'Unexpected generation loss' led to Alberta grid alert

An "unexpected generation loss" in Alberta's power system led to a grid alert being sent out on social media on Wednesday evening, the province says.

The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) sent out the alert at 8:12 p.m. but officials said Thursday morning no one was impacted by the problem.

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"Last night's grid alert was due to the confluence of a number of factors," said Diane Kossman, AESO senior communications advisor, in a statement.

"We had high renewable energy during the day yesterday (April 3), as well as high renewable forecasts for the next couple of days, which meant there were generating units that had chosen to be off due to economics."

Kossman said the reduction in wind and solar power generation was expected, but an "unexpected outage of thermal generation led to tight conditions."

"This event was quickly resolved with the support of imports from interties."

During grid alerts, the AESO typically requests Albertans to take measures such as turning off unnecessary lights and electrical appliances, delay using major power-consuming appliances, use smaller appliances for cooking and consider switching to a laptop instead of a desktop if you need to use a computer.