Natural gas usage in Saskatchewan continues to break records

The return of extreme cold weather across Saskatchewan this week has again helped break the record for natural gas consumption in the province. Natural gas usage of an estimated 1.66 petajoules (PJ) on January 6, 2022 surpassed the previous daily record set on December 29, 2021.

This marks the fifth time in the past two weeks that daily natural gas consumption in Saskatchewan has approached or exceeded 1.6 PJ. Prior to this winter, the previous daily usage record was 1.57 PJ, set in February 2021.

SaskEnergy measures daily natural gas consumption for the 24-hour period from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. A PJ is a unit of measurement equivalent to one million gigajoules (GJ) of natural gas. An average Saskatchewan home consumes about 100 GJ of natural gas each year.

“When we plan for winter usage, we prepare for the worst conditions a Saskatchewan winter can offer,” SaskEnergy President and CEO Ken From said. “This means we can provide residents and businesses with the natural gas that they will need on any given day of the year. Delivering significant amounts of energy during some of the most extreme weather is what our system is designed to do, providing the natural gas our customers need with 99.99 per cent reliability.”

Even during the coldest days, it’s still possible to conserve energy and reduce your heating bill by taking a few simple steps. Here are three of SaskEnergy’s top energy conservation tips for winter:

1. Change the filter in your furnace every month or two to help your furnace run more efficiently.

2. Lower the temperature in your house at night and when you’re not at home, and consider installing a programmable thermostat.

3. Switch your washing machine to cold-water loads. Up to 90 per cent of the energy used to wash laundry is for heating the water.

For more energy saving and natural gas safety tips, visit SaskEnergy’s website at saskenergy.com.