Sask., sets natural gas consumption record during cold snap

Frigid temperatures in the province over the weekend had many peoplejacking up the heat in their homes, and now the province has something to show for it.

According to SaskEnergy, the Saskatchewan set a new record for natural gas consumption in the 24-hour period beginning Jan. 4and ending Jan. 5, 2015.

Environment Canada marked the overnight low in Regina and Saskatoonon Jan. 4 as -29 C, but it felt like -40. Much of the province was also under an extreme cold warning.

TransGassaid it delivered 1.27 PetaJoules of natural gas to its customers during that 24-hour period. It's a two per cent increase over the last record of 1.24 PetaJoules, set on Dec. 6, 2013, when it was -28 C in the province's major cities.

Record-setting and near record-setting days are happening more often as SaskEnergy adds new customers. 7,300 new customers have been added since the last record was set, it said in a media release Monday afternoon.

A PetaJouleis a unit of measurement equivalent to 1 million GigaJoules of natural gas. The average home in Saskatchewan consumes about 105 GigaJoules a year.