Yukon officials outline power concerns after cold snap tested grid capacity

Officials in charge of Yukon’s power grid say rotating blackouts are a “last resort,” and neighbourhoods in Whitehorse need to prepare to be part of the rotation should the territory’s grid be pushed to its limits again during a cold snap. 

Yukon Energy Minister Ted Laking warned last month that the territory’s power grid was under significant strain, with customers setting “an all-time record” for peak demand on Dec. 22, beating another record set just weeks before.

Demand reached 123 megawatts, just below the system’s maximum capacity of 140 megawatts, and Laking said that demand is expected to grow by 40 megawatts over the next five years driven by new homes with electric heating. 

“Without new dependable winter power, this strain will only worsen,” he said. 

Katherine Babcock, Yukon Energy Corp.’s director of maintenance, said Wednesday that demand for power in the territory is growing each year, with data showing an increase of three megawatts from November 2024 to November 2025. 

Babcock and other officials briefed reporters on Wednesday on Yukon’s emergency power procedures, outlining scenarios where residents could be asked to limit their electricity use during times of peak demand like those seen last month when record setting lows reached -52.

She said power generation neared its limits during the cold snap, but couldn’t say how close Yukon came to rolling blackouts because it’s a “big unknown” how much the public would reduce use when called upon under the territory’s “mutual aid” protocols. 

Babock said the Whitehorse Power Centres Project is the focus to solve the territory’s power problems, a plan for two new thermal power centres, fuelled either by diesel or liquefied natural gas, and a new substation to meet growing demand.

She said the difference between demand peaks during daytime hours and lows during the nighttime can be roughly 20 to 30 megawatts. 

“So, if we need that support during the day, and if the public can reduce load similar to what they use at night, which would be if they can reduce by 20 megawatts, then I’d say we’re still a decent ways away from the rotating outages,” she said. “But if we call on their support and they only reduce by 5 or 10 megawatts, then we’re just that much closer.”

She said a proposed transmission line to connect Yukon to the North American power grid via British Columbia, known as Grid Connect, could help “at times,” but the territory would still have to prepare for a scenario of such a connection going down. 

“We still need to be able to rely on being self-supported,” she said. “If that transmission line goes down, we want to ensure Yukoners still have enough generation to be supported.” 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2026.