On January 31st, temperatures reached a low of ?18oC and winds gusted to 65 km per hour. Hydro reached a record generation peak of 1403 MW at 5:48 p.m. "At this time electrical consumption was highest because lighting and cooking demands increased as residents arrived home from work," said Don Barrett, manager, Corporate Affairs.

This generation peak far exceeded the previous record of 1318 MW on January 16, 1996. In addition, the daily energy production record of 29,229 MWh also exceeded the previous record of 27,052 MWh set on February 3, 1990. This was due to the sustained cold temperatures and high winds.

"All our systems worked very well yesterday," said Mr. Barrett. "Throughout the day, Hydro also tested its gas turbines and diesel plants in case they would be needed to supply customers. We are pleased that our systems were able to handle the additional demand placed on them."

Hydro supplied the extreme demand using most of its hydraulic and thermal generating facilities. All facilities were fully available and did not experience problems meeting the peak condition. In fact, there was a considerable energy reserve.