Electricity demand across Ontario jumps during Super Bowl Sunday
Posted February 7, 2011 9:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, Ont. – The agency coordinating Ontario’s electricity supply said demand jumped by approximately 700 megawatts at 5:40 p.m. Sunday – enough to power the entire city of London, Ont., only minutes prior to the start of the Super Bowl.
The numbers are about 450 megawatts higher than the normal demand for a Sunday before the dinner hour.
The heavy power demand continued for about 20 minutes, and later dropped back to a level below normal over the following 10 minutes.
The agency attributes the jump to the combination of football fans preparing food and turning on their televisions ahead of the big game.
As for the lower than usual demand after kickoff, the agency said most fans just stayed in front of their televisions and did not move.
