Temperature signs at El Dorado Savings Bank during the heatwave in Sacramento, California, on Tuesday, September 6, 2022.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | beautiful pictures
California avoided an ongoing blackout order after electricity demand hit a record high Tuesday night due to extreme heat across the state.
The California Independent Systems operator, which oversees the state’s power grid, imposed its highest level of energy emergency on Tuesday, a step ahead before ordering the shutdown and allowing the state to state access to emergency power sources.
The Office of Emergency Services has also sent out a written warning to residents asking them to save electricity. The operator downgraded the Phase 3 alert at around 8pm Pacific time on Tuesday and said that “consumer conservation plays an important role in safeguarding grid reliability.” electricity.”
According to the National Weather Service, the state capital Sacramento hit 116 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday, beating the record set nearly 100 years ago. And nearly half a dozen cities in the San Francisco Bay Area have tied or set all-time highs, the agency said.
Flame retardants are dropped on the Fairview Fire near Hemet, California, September 6, 2022.
David Swanson | Reuters
CAISO said peak power demand on Tuesday reached 52,061 megawatts, surpassing the previous peak of 50,270 megawatts on July 24, 2006.
While the operator did not order a power outage, three cities in Northern California experienced brief blackouts. As of 7:00 a.m. PT on Wednesday, nearly 8,000 California customers were without power, based on PowerOutage.us.
Governor Gavin Newsom, in a video on Twitter Tuesday, warned temperatures across California are unprecedented and the state is entering the worst part of a heatwave, tracked as the hottest and longest-lasting in September.
“The risk of a blackout is real and it happens instantaneously,” Newsom said. “Unsurprisingly, these triple-digit temperatures in most states are leading, unsurprisingly, to record demand on the energy grid.”
The governor urged residents to pre-cool their homes earlier in the day when more electricity is available, and turn thermostats at 78 degrees or higher after 4 p.m. Pacific Time. “Everybody has to do their part to get them promoted in the next few days,” says Newsom.
The potential for widespread power outages reflects how power grids in California and other states are becoming more vulnerable to climate-related disasters such as heat waves, hurricanes and wildfires.
California, which has set a goal of transitioning to 100% renewable energy by 2045, has closed a series of gas power plants over the past few years, making the state increasingly dependent on solar power.
Super-drought in the western US has created the driest two decades in the region in at least 1,200 years, and human-caused climate change has fueled the problem, scientists say. said earlier this year. Conditions will likely continue through 2022 and persist for many years.
