Nova Scotians asked to conserve power during deep freeze

Nova Scotia Power is asking customers to conserve energy, as the frigid weather puts added pressure on the province’s power system.

With windchills making it feel as cold as -28, the power company is expecting greater demand from heating systems.

“Our teams have been preparing all our power generating sites this week to make sure they are producing as much power as possible,” a spokesperson for Nova Scotia Power said in a press release. “We are also using our two new grid-scale battery sites and working with our neighbouring utilities to support each other wherever we can.”

But conserving energy where you can helps to reduce the risk of outages, which in cold weather can become fatal.

“We are asking customers to please conserve energy, especially during peak hours of the day (7 a.m. to 11 a.m., and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.),” the power company said. “The easiest ways to conserve energy are to turn off high consumption appliances and select the lowest comfortable thermostat setting.”

Customers are asked to avoid using high energy appliances like dishwashers, washers and dryers.