Less Snow In Yukon Means Less Hydropower, More Diesel & LNG Electrical Generation This Summer
Some parts of Yukon saw less snow than usual this past winter — and that means Yukon Energy likely won't generate as much hydro power this year. Instead, the power producer will likely rely more on its liquid natural gas (LNG) and diesel generators to meet demand, and could be urging Yukoners to conserve power if dry conditions continue through the summer.
"One of the reasons why we have these LNG and diesel generators around is, they're not only for peaking during the winter, but also to cover off this downside scenario, where we do have a drought condition," said Andrew Hall, CEO of Yukon Energy.
According to the Yukon government's April snow survey report issued earlier this month, the snow pack was well below the historical median through most of southern and central Yukon.
Warm weather in March meant a lot of the thin snow cover melted quickly, and precipitation for the month was also "well below" normal in central and southcentral Yukon, the report says. Hall says Yukon Energy focuses on three watershed areas, where its generating stations are. All had thinner snow pack over this past winter, particularly the Aishihik area. "Droughts don't happen very often. I mean, the last one we had was back in the 1990s," Hall said. "So right now the practice has been to to rely on our thermal — so, our LNG and diesel — to cover off that drought risk."
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/yukon-energy-hydro-snow-pack-1.5102127
