Alberta’s electrical grid stood at the brink of blackouts Jan. 13, before pulling back in the nick of time.
It was the second evening in a row Alberta saw “grid alert” issued, but this time, it was a much closer-run thing.
Alberta’s electrical grid was in such peril of falling into rotating blackouts on Saturday night, the provincial government urged people to even turn off their bathroom fans, among other things.
Also, from Western Standard:
STIRLING: When magical thinking meets a polar vortex cold, hard reality follows
The socialists on my street (the houses with NDP signs) all had their lights on. Including the outside Christmas lights.
Everyone else turned their lights off.
I noticed the same things on our block as well………….
would it be possible to shut off every 2nd STREET LIGHT AS WELL?????
Shutoff your bathroom fans …. but keep your EVs charging.
My kids called BS. I told them unfortunately the only way to test that costs us more than it costs “them”.
Anyway, I hope the operators are in sound enough mind to knock of Edmonton then Calgary first, in order of support for the evil political/religious ideology that gets us to this point.
This is a glimpse of what would be your life (death) under Trudeau and Guilbeault’s green energy fantasy. Wind and solar are providing virtually zero electricity during life threatening cold temps. This is not hyperbole, -30, -40 and colder for multiple days are a death sentence without the ability to heat your home. If the money wasted on building wind and solar had been used to build natgas or nuclear power, there would not have been an emergency alert.
Provincial governments (and citizens) have a moral obligation to defy federal government policies that put millions of citizens lives in danger.
And yet they encourage people to convert their homes to electric heat sources and to buy electric vehicles.
Why if I didn’t know better I would think they want us all dead.
It’ll be pretty easy to control people considering we seem to be dumb enough to allow them to funnel us towards one energy source. Yes there are and will be exceptions to this but the population at large is accelerating towards this reality.
Oh and Albertans just proved a valuable point to Hans Gruber and the Liberals in that they can do without nearly as much electricity on the coldest day of the year, congrats and that one….
The people who run things are elated. To them, there is just enough power supply and as demand destruction grows, the margin will increase. This event proves the stability of the grid as the conversion takes place.
As long as the assholes warn people so they can shed load there is no big deal unless it becomes routine. I turned off a bunch of stuff so I wouldn’t freeze in the dark at 40 below. I know that the communist bastards want to freeze people to death but let’s build some more fossil fuel plants and stabilize the grid before any more BS wind or solar.
Sadly they will use precisely this situation going forward. Clearly Albertans don’t actually “need” that much electricity when it’s -40. Welcome to social re-engineering. Trust me, the Liberals will use this to their advantage. This isn’t the gotcha moment people think it is. When have conservatives ever been on the winning end of these in recent times?
Trudeau and Guilbeault need to get on their unicorns and ride back across the rainbow bridge from whence they came before the people of Canada get mad enough to tar and feather them. Oh wait, that’ll never happen because this country is full of pussies. Where do I sign up for my pixie dust powered heat pump?
“Where do I sign up for my pixie dust powered heat pump?”
What happens to an electrically powered heat pump at 40 below with no wind or sun when we are off fossil fuel? Hopefully I’m dead by then but the bright side is that if I’m not I soon will be.
Heat pumps supplied by Trane, guess who the CEO is?? CEO of Trane just happens to be MARK CARNEY, LIB PM in waiting!!! Also held OR holds a position in WEF (like Freeland but some controversy she has stepped away to run for PM (inside info but been knifing Trudeau for 2 yrs) Gotta love a govt WHO keeps their friends/family employed, paid & Rich. They don’t even sometimes have to work for it, just file paperwork & take the cheque???
I agree about passive Cdns. We see that everyday on the political prisoners 4 still in jail, 2 in court! The convoy woke up the WORLD, to the corruption, Criminality, segregation, EA, vax mandates, bank control BUT still AB & would vote both parties AGAIN, but is it because we have “become the new Israel”? Beijing/India interference, hidden & buried? Or just plain old mental illness/manipulation?? Time for this Province to get behind Smith for a police force who does NOT serve at the pleasure of the PM, and our own APP because 1. The govt is concerned WHY?? Dipping their fingers for $ gain?, afraid others pay more & they will lose control. 2. They tell us they don’t control bank of Canada but doesn’t look like it to me, we could at least with APP protect our citizens, Province & our own $$, Guaranteed this is NOT the last Zealot NDP/LIB we will have to deal, another Trudeau in training , with in the next 20 years But by then maybe in 15 minute cities, locked gown, eating bugs we won’t have a say?? Or less than now & FFS wake up Albertans & and stop voting Lib/NDP Moronic Mayor’s Canada!!!
There is a new 900Mw gas fired plant called Cascade being built just SW of Edson. Was supposed to be complete by now but off course, construction delays. Would have helped last night. Should put some coal back on line just to be safe.
I remember when Earth Day was thing.. We were supposed to sit in the dark for an hour and the drop in energy usage was used by the media as a referendum on how we all supported all things green..
A cherry picking we ago.. Reality caught up with that and they decided to just end the sitting in the dark part because it was undetectable on the grid..
I suspect.. These grid alerts will also be ended because of the negative green message it sends.. They have no shame.. Then it’s going to be reporting on the (what do they call it?) rolling blackouts, that’s it.. Sounds like something is happening because its rolling.. Rolling a passed out drunk for what’s left in his pockets..
Im going with that..
I hope Premier Smith takes every opportunity to use this near-run blackout as the central argument in her public debate with the Dear Leader and Hans Gruber on the costly and dangerous “green” initiatives being ordered by Ottawa.
Won’t happen. UCP hasn’t even bothered to make an official statement calling BS on Glowbull Warming yet, let alone anything else constructive to that end. Unless something has changed recently, their policy is that they want this horseshit pushed back to 2050, rather than 2035. A bunch of ’em still believe this crap.
Long past time to start flexing the Board’s muscle, now that we have a solid majority therein.
That is truly disappointing. I had thought she might be the first premier to stand up to the “green” madness of the Dear Leader. I had also thought the same thing when Doug Ford was first elected, but he turned out to be fiscally reckless and a slave to politically correct ideology – only very slightly better than the Wynne Liberal regime he replaced. In fact, Ford is now being praised by the Globe & Mail for “investing” more taxpayer money in wind and solar farms.
“The Premier has not transformed into a green activist but his government is planning to sign deals for 5,000 megawatts of renewable power over the next five years – which could roughly double the province’s supply of wind and solar power.”
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-from-blocking-to-backing-doug-fords-conversion-on-renewable-power/
Doug Ford’s brother would be rolling over in his grave if he knew what a pu$$y his brother has become. He is no conservative, and probably as crooked as a snake.
Rolling blackouts? Too bad they can’t start with socialist ridings. For the record, I’m stuck in one.
I got up this morning and recorded this video. https://youtu.be/lWr9gDfMmoo
I live in Calgary and am livid that I was told I had to conserve energy in one of the most energy rich places on Earth.
Take a look.
Thanks sda for giving all the people here a place to vent… and rant.
On the money! I live in the east, and totally detest the Liberals for all of the green and woke nonsense. I don’t understand how they have any support!
Great video – thanks!
I don’t want the eastern bastards to freeze in the dark either. I just want the bastards in central and eastern Canada to pull their heads out of their asses and quit being so naive and ignorant about the energy industry.
…quit being so naive and ignorant about the energy industry.
The only way this’ll happen is if they freeze in the dark.
Couldn’t agree with you more. I have been living hear since 1960. I remember so well Justin’s card carrying Commies first attack on Alberta and the NEP. Who can’t remember that except an eastern creep and bum. The only thing that stopped him was the actions of Peter Lougheed and his cut to production so the east had to suffer some of the pain that PET was dishing out. Every true Albertan early warning radar went off at the mere mention of another Trudeau elected. From day one I have been calling for every Albertan leader to just turnoff the taps who cares if you freeze a few useful idiots, a small price to pay, compared to to what Maos 80 million deaths. These creeps and bums have to be hit in the head to open their brain washed slumbering minds. That’s what it took to finally awaken Sirlanka, same as the Dutch, Germans, French, Brits.
“conserve energy in one of the most energy rich places on Earth”
They also want to conserve water when a 30,000 cubic feet per second river flows by. And when I flush I put a little extra back in the river. Net gain.
I would beseech @ABDanielle Smith to EXTEND on a PERMANENT & non Revocable Basis, the current 6 month “pause” on building more of this utter BS.
Alberta has 300+ yrs of Coal, the Tech to utilize it – CLEAN
WhyTF are we not doing this..???
WE as a People must put pressure on this Govt to not only ensure said pause becomes Permanent, but ensure that the Thousands of Bird Chopping monstrosities are actually torn down and sites fully remediated.
If the Province ends up being the one charged…?? THEN DEDUCT Every Fking Penny it costs us from their Equalization payments While WE SEPARATE.!!
Funny thing is, for anyone who regularly drives Hiways 4, 3, 845 & 36, there has been a constant stream of bird & bat choppers being transported north. I haven’t seen a slowdown at all. Yeah, I get that there was a backlog, but still…
We can all thank Red Rachel:
https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/alberta-utility-firms-brace-for-early-phase-out-of-coal-under-notleys-climate-change-policies
Geoffrey Morgan Nov 12, 2015
https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/alberta-strikes-1-36-billion-deal-with-coal-companies-as-part-of-plan-to-shut-down-plants-early
Geoffrey Morgan Nov 24, 2016
… “The NDP government (Rachel Notley) has mandated all coal-fired power plants cease operations by 2030 (to save the planet). The province (tax-payers, not gov’t workers) will pay $97 million per year (to break contracts) until 2030 to shut down (earlier than designed for) 6 of 18 coal-fired power plants early. The other 12 were scheduled to be out of service by 2030.”
How many watts were her homes consuming last night?
I said it last night and I’ll say it now- someone please drag the old alcoholic by the hair and Hans Gruber by the beard and dump them both in the bush outside Paddle Prairie in this weather.
Still angry.
Great video John, I am as disgusted as you are.
And more great investigative reporting from Brian!
A few weeks ago I was hearing that China was experiencing record breaking cold temperatures and knew that it would eventually come here like it always does. But the thing that I never heard was whether all of the Coal that we export to them was doing its job to keep their power grid from collapsing???
Why in the F is it okay to send our coal to china to burn, but using it here to run our steam generators is evil???
Thanks Rachel and you NDP idiots.
And thanks to the “Conservatives “ for not reversing this insanity on day one of re-taking the legislature. Idiots too.
When the emergency alert was issued I immediately shut down what I could. Out here in the buck brush power interruption is not uncommon and if rolling blackouts start I know where they will pull the plug on first.
Last winter the power was out for 36 hours. It was cold but not like this. A bunch of oldies in town had to go to the community hall ‘warming centre’ because their houses had cooled down. I burn wood so I’m ok for heat and I’ve got a coupla gennys.
Someone mentioned above there has not been a peep out of the government about the threat of blackouts. The UCP will be praying to some climate gawd to please keep the lights on. The ndp will be as well because they will get tagged for their part in the accelerated shut down of the coal fired plants.
All hell will erupt if the grid fails especially for any length of time. In a province with the abundance of energy riches Alberta enjoys and we’re faced with a lack of electrical power? C’mon
You’re kind of getting the point why I’ve been writing all these stories continuously about the failures of renewables. Eventually it will come to a head. Last night it was a hair’s breadth away from that.
Keep it going Brian.
It will probably take a total power failure tho before these guys get the program.
I agree. AESO discharged the whole battery fleet last night, staggered somewhat but mostly between 17:30 and 18:30. I don’t think they’ve ever done that before as the batteries are there for frequency control. And they knew they would have no chance to recharge them for a while.
The NDP will say this proves we need more wind and solar
They did.
Here’s what Nagwan Al-Guneid, NDP MLA for Calgary Glenmore posted on LinkedIn that evening.
“The AESO just announced a grid alert with the extreme cold temperatures we are currently experiencing. The combination of two natural gas generators going offline and low renewables generation (yes, the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow), is having a compounded effect, and we are low on energy supply.
“We need to diversify the energy sources on the grid. It’s not natural gas vs. renewables; it’s both plus more. We also need to invest in storage and build interties to have a reliable, affordable, and low emissions grid in Alberta.”
To which I write, sorry , Ms. Al-Guneid, that’s totally wrong.
Alberta already has 45 wind farms. If they had 100, it wouldn’t make a difference. Even if they had 1,000. And similarly, Alberta has 43 solar farms. So no, it’s not both plus more. More wind, more solar, does absolutely nothing to solve these issues. At 6:30 pm., the 6100 megawatts of wind and solar combined was putting out 6. SIX!
The boards of these utility companies need to be prosecuted for manslaughter if anyone dies due to freezing to death due to their negligence.
It is only a matter of time if they don’t change course.
Food for thought.