Manitobans used less power this November through January, compared to the same period over the last two years.

According to figures from Manitoba Hydro, total usage was down three per cent from 2017 and 1 per cent from 2018.

However, spokesperson Riley MacDonald says these statistics aren't necessarily reflected month-by-month.

For example, he says Manitobans used less power in November 2019 than during the same month in 2017 and 2018. But that changed in December 2019 when slightly more hydro was consumed than in the same month in 2018, but less than in 2017. And then in January 2020, MacDonald says the province used less than in both 2017 and 2018.

"So December it seems that Manitobans used slightly more power than last year. I don't know if that was an effect of the cold or what," added MacDonald.

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, the average daytime high registered in Gretna for December 2019 was -6.5 degrees Celsius, compared to -5 in 2018.

MacDonald notes the peak season for hydro use in Manitoba is during the winter months as compared to the summer months in other parts of Canada or even the southern United States where use is at its highest during the summer. 

"It's not that it's not hot in Manitoba (during the summer), but it's significantly more difficult to heat than it is to cool," he said.