Blackout narrowly avoided during New Brunswick's hottest day of 2023
John Chilibeck, a reporter for The Daily Gleaner, wrote about a local journalism initiative in his blog post.
On the beginning of summer season, NB Power needed to activate almost all of its electrical plants in order to prevent occurrences of rolling blackouts. This is already the second time this year that the public utility had to face such an unnerving circumstance.
Thomas MacFarlane, who is the deputy minister of natural resources and energy development, revealed some news during the public accounts committee of the legislature on Friday. He shared that excessive usage of air conditioning systems caused significant issues on June 1, which is considered the first day of summer in terms of meteorology.
On that moist day, the temperature reached 33.9 C in Fredericton - the warmest day to date in the current year.
MacFarlane informed the group of lawmakers that we activated all of our power-generating systems in order to produce electricity on our own. Usually, we receive electricity from external sources like Hydro-Quebec; however, our access to their power supply was restricted during that period.
Typically, we receive electricity from external sources, such as Hydro-Quebec. However, during that particular moment, we were restricted by Hydro-Quebec from doing so, as stated by Thomas MacFarlane.
"That's something to be worried about."
According to Brunswick News, NB Power verified that they had to activate generators, like the ones at Coleson Cove in Saint John, that are usually kept in reserve for high energy demands during the winter season. However, they didn't reach the highest energy demand level of all time on that day. This occurred earlier on February 4th, when the area was struck by severe cold temperatures and wind chills that made it seem like it was -40 degrees Celsius.
On June 1st, NB Power's representative, Dominique Couture, informed that Quebec was experiencing severe wildfires while NB Power's power-generating equipment was undergoing maintenance. As a result, Hydro-Quebec couldn't provide power to New Brunswick.
This caused worries that the system might not have sufficient power to cater to all those utilizing it.
Upon realizing the situation, our team promptly took action to activate all accessible power generation sources, guaranteeing that there would be no disruption in the energy supply in New Brunswick, as stated in an email from the spokesperson. Although such an incident occurred during a period of high demand in the summer months, this cannot be equated to the demand in the winter when the load on the New Brunswick grid hits its peak.
She stated that while clients were not affected, ensuring energy security was the top priority for the utility company.
It is important to make sure that the province of New Brunswick has enough resources within its borders to endure a grid that is changing quickly, climate change, and unexpected situations.
On Friday, a number of politicians from the three political parties had some doubts about whether the Progressive Conservative government was equipped to cope with the rising power needs of the province. They also expressed concerns about the government's efforts to conserve energy.
Andrea Anderson-Mason, an MLA from the Tory party, inquired if there would be a continuing problem with power outages happening periodically.
In a joking manner, she remarked that they would simply switch off all the air conditioning units on that particular day.
Andrea Anderson-Mason is a member of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick.
She also raised concerns about whether the province was adequately equipped to meet the increasing demand for electric cars. Representing mostly rural communities throughout Charlotte County in the southwestern portion of the province, she noted that charging stations were scarce and widely dispersed.
The province aims to have fifty percent of vehicle sales come from electric models instead of gasoline-powered ones by 2030, which is in just seven years. This objective was influenced by the Liberal government based in Ottawa that desires all car sales nationwide to be entirely electric by 2035, as their way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and battling climate change.
However, there is still a lack of a comprehensive strategy in New Brunswick for the installation of charging stations and the provision of additional electricity.
Currently, the province has only managed to sell 3,000 electric vehicles. The goal is to substantially increase this number to around 140,000 by the year 2030.
However, there are only 46 rapid charging points available in the province for the speedy recharge of vehicles, instead of spending hours at slow charging stations.
On the other hand, the situation is completely different in the Netherlands. The country has witnessed a surge in the sale of electric vehicles, and as a result, they have installed a staggering 4,376 fast charging stations. It is quite surprising that a country which is just half the size of New Brunswick has such an impressive infrastructure to support electric vehicles.
When looking at the number of fast chargers per individual, there are significantly more in the Netherlands compared to New Brunswick. In fact, in the Netherlands, there are 4,000 people for every fast charger, while in New Brunswick, there are 18,000 people for every fast charger.
According to David Coon, the leader of the Green Party, more and more people are being seen waiting in queues at electric charging stations, and the province is not keeping up with the demand. He suggests that investing in charging stations that are powered by solar energy would be a wise decision. He gave an example of such a station located in Petit-Rocher on the Acadian Peninsula.
He stated that there is no standard charging station for e-vehicles. Tesla charging stations only work for Tesla cars and not for other brands.
In my opinion, your department should take the responsibility to plan and develop the necessary infrastructure for electric vehicles. Additionally, NB Power should create a separate company that focuses solely on establishing charging stations throughout the province. I am uncertain why this has not been implemented yet.
MacFarlane previously mentioned that the main barrier to increasing the number of electric cars sold in New Brunswick was problems with the supply chain. He urged people to be patient.
I concur. For this reason, we've carried out a thorough evaluation of our requirements, and the foundation must be given attention to reach our objectives and make electric automobiles dominant.
The vice minister mentioned that their department's following action is to devise a strategy derived from the evaluation of necessities that would include the service provider. He suggests that it might include granting government rewards to shops to incorporate those tools into their operations.
The group of individuals on the committee requested a copy of the finalized assessment of necessities. However, the deputy supervisor explained that it has not been converted into another language yet. The deputy supervisor assured the committee members that they would receive the document promptly.
