Photo Courtesy of BC Hydro

The first cold snap of 2019 has led to electricity demand going through the roof.

This is according to BC Hydro, where the chilly weather has swept across most of the province and into Prince George and Northern BC.

Northern Spokesperson Bob Gammer dug deeper into the numbers.

“So what we’ve recorded already is a noticeable increase in the amount of power customers are using, which is about 13% more than the same days last week before the cold snap hit.”

Gammer reminds homeowners to not go overboard when changing the temperature of your thermostat during the colder weather.

“Keep your thermostat at the ideal temperature. It should be set at about 16 degrees when you are away from your home or when your sleeping, 18 degrees when you are cooking or doing housework and 21 degrees Celsius when relaxing at home.”

BC Hydro is forecasting peak hourly demand to range between 9,600 to 10,000 megawatts.

The highest hourly peak demand occurred in January of 2017 when consumption reached 10,194 megawatts.