With the colder temperatures being experienced throughout the province, alongside shorter days, SaskPower is accomodating more demand than ever before - and it shows.

On December 12 at 5:24pm, SaskPower's load peaked at 3,710 megawatts (MW) throughout the province. This beats the previous record of 3,640 MW set on January 12 earlier this year.

"It's definitely not something that's unusual to us. We've set new records in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, twice in 2015 and now twice in 2016. It's definitely something we expect, particularly during these cold winter months and especially during that time," expressed Spokesperson, Heather Johnson.

"It's definitely not a threat. We're certainly aware of, and prepared for, the higher demand of power that come in the winter time."

Demand for the commodity is growing fast, which gives the Crown corporation some ideas to expand their horizon. One of the examples she gave is the Chinook Power Station being built near Swift Current, as well as the addition of renewable sources of energy.

SaskPower reassured the public that this should cause no concern, as the entire collection of their power stations can handle a total of 4400 MW of load. With that said, the Crown Corporation mentioned a few ways to save power and shave a few dollars off your bill.

Turn down the thermostat, especially when no one is home. Changing the temperature of your home by even a few degrees can make a big difference. 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. Use a block heater timer to save around $25 a year.
Turn off the lights. Shorter days and longer nights mean interior lights in your home are on longer. Remember to turn out the lights when you leave a room. Better yet, cut down the power they use by about three quarters by using LED light bulbs.