P.E.I. power customers could see rotating outages to prevent total blackouts this winter

Prince Edward Island's largest power utility says it has plans in place to prevent provincewide blackouts this winter.

Maritime Electric said rotating outages, also known as load shedding, could be used for the first time to protect P.E.I.'s power grid from a full shutdown in the event of large electricity demands. It means some communities or areas could be temporarily shut off to prevent a total blackout.

Jason Roberts, the utility's CEO, said the higher demands for electricity during the winter months can put the system at risk of overloading.

"We don't want to see anybody go without power, but we could be faced with situations where we do have to shut power off," Roberts told CBC News.

"We're not picking on anybody. It's about managing the load and trying to keep the lights on for everybody as long as we can."

He said the Island’s growing population has also been a factor in increased demand on the grid.

"The load has grown significantly, but we haven't added any... reliable generation capacity to the system," Roberts said. "The load is increasing, but our supply is not growing."

Maritime Electric staff are currently being trained on what rotating outages would look like, but Roberts said there's no way to know for sure until it's put into real-life practice.

Some areas would have their power turned off for a few hours at a time, but who will be affected depends on each storm and where electricity demand is highest.

Hospitals and other emergency services are a priority and will not be shut off, he said.

"What we're doing right now is planning for... if and when it happens and how we're going to execute it," Roberts said. "We don't really know where and when or if it's going to happen."

Maritime Electric will communicate any rotating outages to customers through its website, social media and other resources.

The plans are expected to stay in place until the province is able to generate more of it's own power. Roberts said he does expects a decision soon from the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission on the $334-million diesel turbines Maritime Electric has requested to buy for emergency backup power.