Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
Saskatchewan power generation numbers on Jan. 2, in megawatts. SaskPower
It turns out that while Alberta had two days where grid-scale wind power generation output fell to zero for minutes, in Saskatchewan, it was for hours. Seventeen hours, in total.
As Pipeline Online previously reported, on Jan. 2, Alberta’s fleet of 50 wind farms comprised of 1760 turbines fell to zero megawatts output for a few minutes around at 1:18 a.m. and 1:27 a.m.
Roughly 23 hours later, it occurred again on Jan. 3, hitting zero output at 12:45 for 10 minutes that Pipeline Online observed.
X accounts @ReliableAB and @IntermittentNRG log data from the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO). According to @ReliableAB using data from @IntermittentNRG, on Jan. 3,
“Alberta wind generation for the last 48 hours.
“There were 248 minutes of 0 MW generation, all during dark hours, with the longest continuous period from 01:50 to 05:18 this morning.
“Minimum: 0 MW = 0% of installed capacity
“Average: 160 MW = 2.8% of installed capacity
“Maximum: 697 MW = 12.3 % of installed capacity Average temperature over the last 48 hours was -15.4 °C”
Alberta wind generation for the last 48 hours.
There were 248 minutes of 0 MW generation, all during dark hours, with the longest continuous period from 01:50 to 05:18 this morning.
Minimum: 0 MW = 0% of installed capacity
Average: 160 MW = 2.8% of installed capacity
Maximum:… pic.twitter.com/DkBYSp7Y7v— Reliable AB Energy (@ReliableAB) January 3, 2026
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Meanwhile in Saskatchewan
Well, Saskatchewan blew those numbers away during a similar time period.
SaskPower posts 24 hour averages of each class of power generation on its Where Your Power Comes From webpage. That data is delayed two days to allow SaskPower to protect its bargaining position in daily electricity markets with its neighbours.
So as a result it took a few days to see what happened in Saskatchewan. X account @SkElectricity logs the Saskatchewan data from SaskPower.
On Jan. 1, SaskPower saw grid-scale wind generation average 22 megawatts over 24 hours out of a capacity of 817 megawatts. On Jan. 2, the 24 hour average was just 10 megawatts, out of a nameplate capacity of 817 megawatts. That’s an average of 1.2 per cent over 24 hours..
Blue Hill wind farm south of Herbert on Sept. 13, 2024. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
Pipeline Online asked SaskPower if there was any time during those days when wind output was zero. This was the response on Jan. 5 by email:
“There were 12 hours with 0 megawatts of wind generation on January 1 and five hours of 0 megawatts wind generation on January 2, with the lowest wind in the early morning that day. The highest wind output for this period was 143 megawatts between 1 and 2 a.m. on January 1.”
That totals 17 hours of zero output from Saskatchewan’s grid-scale wind fleet.
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Year end numbers
@SkElectricity also provides a year-end roundup. For 2025, the year’s average power generation by source came in as follows:
- Natural gas – 1459 megawatts (59.3 per cent capacity)
- Coal – 820 megawatts (59.1 per cent capacity)
- Hydro – 311 megawatts (35.9 per cent capacity)
- Wind – 323 megawatts (39.6 per cent capacity)
- Other – 56 megawatts (14.1 per cent capacity)
- Solar – 7 megawatts (22.4 per cent capacity)
The highest power demand was on Feb. 2, hitting 3,546 average megawatts over 24 hours. The minimum power demand was on May 6, at 2,367 average megawatts. The highest overall demand was 3,741 megawatts, but the date was not stated. The lowest demand was 1,516 megawatts, but again, the date was not stated.
Has it been a YEAR already???🥳
Explore more at https://t.co/LfiWQTeM0Q
Where our power came from last YEAR: pic.twitter.com/hRGyrWptp6— Saskatchewan Electricity Mix (@SkElectricity) January 2, 2026
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- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
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