With the extreme cold across Saskatchewan, SaskPower is reporting record power consumption for Wednesday evening.

Saskatchewan reached its peak consumption at 5:27 p.m. on Wednesday, using 3,868 megawatts of power. Local power consumption numbers were not available through SaskPower.

The previous record was 3,792 megawatts that were reached on Dec. 29, 2017. The record was beaten by 76 megawatts, which SaskPower says is the equivalent of powering 76,000 homes.

All totaled, it was a record-breaking year for Saskatchewan as the province also broke the summer record with a peak load of 3,543 megawatts on June 30.

To help conserve power and save money on your power bill, SaskPower is offering the following tips:

  • Turn down the thermostat when no one is home or consider investing in a smart thermostat to ensure heat is only being used when it's needed. Customers could save up to two per cent on their heating costs simply by lowering their household temperature one degree during the overnight period.
  • Utilize a timer for your block heater – cars only need to be plugged in for four hours to realize the benefit of a block heater.
  • Invest in LED lightbulbs around the house. LEDs use approximately one-quarter the power than traditional incandescent bulbs.