With temperatures dropping, both SaskPower and SaskEnergy/TransGas set new records for power use and natural gas consumption January 4 and 5. According to Environment Canada, records at their weather station at Scott, Saskatchewan, showed the temperature dropping to -35C the night of January 4.

SaskPower says the new peak power load record of 3,583 megawatts was reached at 6:20 pm January 4.

According to a press release issued by SaskPower, they acquired approximately 7,800 new residential, commercial and industrial customers over the course of the 2014 year. Acting president and CEO Mike Marsh said, “We continue to set new records for power consumption, the result of more people living and working in our province than ever before.”

Meanwhile, TransGas delivered 1.27 PetaJoules of natural gas in 24 hours from Sunday, January 4, to Monday, January 5. According to a SaskEnergy press release, this was a two per cent increase over the previous record of 1.24 PetaJoules, set Dec. 6, 2014.

The release explained, “A PetaJoule is a unit of measurement equivalent to one million GigaJoules of natural gas — the average home in Saskatchewan consumes about 105 GigaJoules of natural gas annually.”

Like SaskPower, SaskEnergy has also been adding new customers. Since the previous record was set, about 7,300 new customers have been added to the TransGas distribution network.

SaskPower provided the following tips both to lighten the demand and to lessen your power bills.

Turn down the thermostat. For every degree you lower your thermostat overnight for an eight-hour period, you can save up to two per cent on your heating costs.

Plug in your car with a timer. Your car only needs to be plugged in for four hours. Using a block heater timer will save you around $25 a year.

Turn out the lights. Shorter days and longer nights mean interior lights in your home are on longer. Remember to turn them out when you leave a room. Better yet, use LED light bulbs and cut down the power used by about three-quarters.