The California Independent System Operator (ISO) declared a Stage 3 electrical need due to high heat and increased demand for electricity.
The emergency initiates rotated outages throughout the state.
A Stage 3 need is declared if demand expands beyond available supply. Rotary power outages are initiated to maintain stability of the electric grid.
The Phase 3 emergency declaration was named after extreme heat raised the demand for electricity in California, causing the ISO to dip into its corporate reserves for supply to meet demand.
The California ISO works closely with California utilities and adjacent power systems to manage power on the grid and restore power to full capacity. If parts of the grid are restored, local utilities will repay in a coordinated manner.
Although a stage emergency is a significant inconvenience to those affected by rotating power outages, it is preferable to manage an emergency with controlled measures, rather than causing widespread and prolonged disruption.
PG&E says the outages are expected to affect up to 250,000 customers in rotations of around one hour to 11 hours
.
