Electric power thermal generating station fuel consumption, 2019
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Released: 2020-11-03
In 2019, electric utility thermal plants in Canada generated 193.7 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity, down 0.2% from the previous year.
Uranium, coal and natural gas continued to be the largest fuel sources used in 2019. Combined, these fuel types accounted for 96.1% of the total thermal generation of electricity. Uranium, by far the largest fuel source used during the year with 49.3% of the total, was virtually unchanged from the previous year at 95.5 million MWh. Thermal electric generation remained steady in 2019 compared with the previous year due to offsetting movements by major fuel sources. Natural gas increased 6.5% to 46.1 million MWh, offsetting a decrease in coal generation, which declined 5.3% to 44.5 million MWh in 2019.
The main contributors to the increase in natural gas generation came from utility thermal plants in Alberta, up 10.3% to 23.6 million MWh.
The reduction of coal was due in large part to a drop in Alberta accounting for 67.7% of the total decline, and New Brunswick accounting for a further 20.2%.
Note to readers
The Electric Power Thermal Generating Station Fuel Consumption Survey provides data on the amount of fuel consumed by thermal generating plants, the cost of the fuel consumed for electric power generation, and the amount of electricity generated from these fuels.
Data for 2018 have been revised.
The Electric Power Thermal Generating Station Fuel Consumption Survey is now administered as part of Statistics Canada's Integrated Business Statistics Program (IBSP). Detailed information about the IBSP is available from the Behind the data module of our website.
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