Demanding

One of the preferred talking points by Dundergov in support of the Muskrat Falls Deal-Like Thing is that it is necessary (so the talking point goes) in order to meet all the demand.

Wade Verge, who is someone's MHA, bumbled and mumbled these talking points, with some inadvertent humour thrown in, a few days ago:

The fact is, in 2015 this Province will have a capacity deficit for electricity. What it means when we say a capacity deficit, it means that at peak times – when we think of peak times, a peak time might be a February morning when everybody is getting up and getting ready to go to school, and people have their toasters on all over the Province. At peak times there will be a deficit. So that is 2015.

Now, by 2019 we are told we will have an actual electricity deficit. That means the electricity demand in the Province at that point in time will be greater than the electricity we are producing. We have a problem, how do we meet the demand? We have established through analysis, objective, fair analysis, that there is going to be a deficit. Now we have to decide as a Province, how do we meet the demand?

First of all, the demand has been growing; it has been growing for a number of years. The demand has been growing because of economic growth. This Province has been growing. Economic growth means we have a greater demand for power. We have had more homes being built. We have had bigger homes being built. About 86 per cent of the homes that are being built, they tell us now, are using electricity. Domestic demand has grown. That is something that is established, this is something that has been verified.

Herewith, a graph of some figures taken directly from Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro / Nalco(r)'s own reports, showing the total amount of energy (in GWh) sold annually by NLH/Nalco(r) over the past decade. The chart, like the source data, helpfully distinguishes the three main classes of energy sales: industrial, rural (i.e., non-industrial customers who are supplied directly by NLH), and utility (i.e., power sold to da lite and power b'yes who then retail to their customers.)
And herewith, a graph of stats from the same source, showing the peak demand (in MW) on the Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro generating network (Churchill Falls excluded) over the same period.
If you can't spot the "growing demand", show these charts to Wade Verge.

Apparently he can.