As citizens strain the electrical infrastructure due to soaring, record-high temperatures over most of California, the state’s power grid operator issued a blackout warning on Monday.
When the state battles with a persistent heat wave, electricity use in California is expected to approach levels last seen in 2017. Tuesday may also see a record amount of demand for electricity as businesses and schools reopen after the Labor Day weekend.
According to the Bloomberg story, Elliot Mainzer, the chief executive of California’s electricity grid management, the California Independent System Operator, said at a media conference on Monday that “rotating outages are a possibility today.” According to Bloomberg, Mainzer said during the briefing that power interruptions would only be used as a last option and that the state may also declare a level-2 emergency, which would also free up the energy supply.
California has an energy shortage that may be as high as 10% of its typical power consumption, according to a statement made by Mainzer and put to YouTube on Monday. In fact, Mainzer added, “with these record high temperatures and demand, we need two to three times as much conservation as we’ve been seeing to keep the electricity on.”
For the sixth day in a row, California requested citizens to reduce their energy use by not using large appliances, raising their thermostats, and turning off lights during the busiest evening hours. This is known as a “Flex Alert.”
There has been a noticeable increase in temperature over most of California. Tuesday’s high in Sacramento, the state’s capital, may be 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Sunday had a high of 103 degrees in Los Angeles, according to Bob Oravec of the US Weather Prediction Center.
Prior to the heat wave that has subsequently engulfed the state, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency last Wednesday. At the time, Newsom said that while California’s switch to renewable energy had increased the state’s grid’s capacity by 4,000 megawatts, the state’s persistent drought had made it more challenging to generate hydroelectric electricity.
Another recurring problem has further hampered California’s heat wave. Power lines that provide energy to customers are under risk due to wildfires in the vicinity of Los Angeles and San Diego. However, according to Mainzer, as of Sunday, no significant failures had been detected.