Data from FortisAlberta shows electricity consumption rates in Airdrie and the surrounding area increased by about 18.3 million kilowatt hours (kWh) in 2017.

Total electricity consumption in 2017 was 464,744,696 kWh, compared with 446,405,900 kWh for the city in 2016. Jennifer MacGowan, Director of Customer Experience with Fortis, said the increase could be due to weather patterns and growth over the past year.

June 2017 saw the least electricity consumption at only 35,357,253 kWh.

Interestingly, over 1.1 million kWh less was used in December, 2017 compared with the same month the year before. 

"The cause of December 2017 consumption being less than 2016 is because the first three weeks of December 2017 were unusually warm, and it really did not turn cold until Christmas Eve," said McGowan.

Despite being lower than the year before, December 2017 was still the month with the highest usage rate at 44,413,165 kWh.

 

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