One more time: Alberta’s wind power hits zero output for the second day in a row

Brian Zinchuk

Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online

MC is maximum capacity, in megawatts. TNG is total net to grid. DCR is dispatched, and accepted, contingency reserve. This was at 12:45 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. AESO

For the second day in a row, wind power generation in Alberta fell to zero megawatts, out of a nameplate capacity of 5,684 megawatts.

That’s according to minute-by-minute data from the Alberta Electric System Operator, or AESO.

Between 12:22 and 12:44 a.m. on Jan. 3, wind output hovered between 1 and 2 megawatts, with most of that time at 1 megawatt.

Then at 12:45 a.m. it hit zero megawatts, and remained totally flatlined for the next 10 minutes. It hit zero again at 1 a.m. for another three minutes.

During that time, not one electric vehicle or cellphone in Alberta was being charged by wind or solar power generation, as both were registering zero on the grid.

Natural gas was producing 96.7 per cent of all power in Alberta at the time.

At that time, weather website Windy.com showed -34 C at High Level, -30 C at Fort McMurray, -23 C at Edmonton and -10 C at Calgary.

This cratering of wind output was 23 hours after similar numbers were registered for wind production. Eventually, on Jan. 2, wind output zeroed out to just that – nothing. Zero.

In Saskatchewan, on Jan. 1, wind produced a 24 hour average of 22 megawatts out of 817 megawatts nameplate capacity. That’s an average of 2.7 per cent. SaskPower delays its data on its Where Your Power Comes From webpage by two days to protect its position in wholesale electricity markets.

• 0111 2026 SK Oil Show booth promo 01
  0111 2026 SK Oil Show booth promo 01
• 0085 Turnbull snow removal call office
  0085 Turnbull snow removal call office
• 0110 SaskEnergy SEI_Network_Members_Burn_Brighter
  0110 SaskEnergy SEI_Network_Members_Burn_Brighter
• 0109 SaskPower SASPO_2817_PLT_Recruitment_DIVERSITY
  0109 SaskPower SASPO_2817_PLT_Recruitment_DIVERSITY
• 0105 SaskEnergy Commitment to Safety
  0105 SaskEnergy Commitment to Safety
• 0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended
  0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended
• 0100 Turnbull Project Manager
  0100 Turnbull Project Manager
• 0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p
  0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p
• 0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD
  0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD
• 0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it
  0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it
• 0092 Turnbull projects big and small
  0092 Turnbull projects big and small
• 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser
  0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser
• 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
  0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
• 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
  0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
• 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
  0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
• 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
  0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
• 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
  0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
• 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
• 0022 Grimes winter hiring
• 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
• 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
• 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
• 0002 gilliss casing services
  0002 gilliss casing services
• 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
  9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
• 9001