PEI experienced very cold weather last weekend, with windchills below -40C in some areas for extended periods of time. Pipes froze in buildings, in some cases because of power outages probably due either to Fiona-damaged trees coming down in strong winds or just the stress on the system.

Most Island buildings have traditionally been heated with furnace oil or wood or a combination of both. Households and businesses have been converting to air source heat pumps, often with electrical baseboard backup, as a cheaper source of heat, and as electricity prices are regulated on PEI, a source less susceptible to the fluctuations of world oil prices.

With all this added draw, our electrical system experienced its highest peak load ever on the weekend. When the CEO of Maritime Electric was asked in a CBC interview “How high can you go?”, he said he didn’t know and didn’t want to ever test it. I can’t say I found this to be very comforting.

On the same day this interview aired, the PEI government announced that a program to give Island homeowners free heat pumps will be expanded. Shouldn’t our electrical utility be able to tell us if they can meet this increasing demand, or if the system can handle it? I’m pretty sure Islanders would not be thrilled with the rolling blackouts common in other places.