California preceded another round of rolling blackouts on Tuesday because efforts to save energy helped curb an energy shortage while excessive heat continued throughout the state.
The operator of the California Independent System, which manages most of the state’s electrical network, declared a Stage 2 power emergency to provide approximately 2 hours and three residents to save as much energy as possible.
But conservation measures and an impetus in wind energy production helped prevent the state from reaching a Stage 3 emergency, as network operators target utilities to set up rolling blackouts. The system administrator announced just before 8 a.m. that it had lifted the emergency status.
It was the second day in a row that houses, businesses and government agencies banded together to sharply curb their electricity use, helping to prevent what the third round of rotating shutdowns would have been since the heatwave began on Friday.
“It was wonderful,” said Steve Berberich, the system administrator’s CEO, of Monday’s efforts.
The system administrator, a normal non-profit organization under the radar, has taken center stage in recent days because California has been experiencing its worst electricity shortage since 2001. But the system administrator does not buy the power itself or make electric companies this. Those decisions are reviewed by regulators at the California Public Utilities Commission. Berberich said the commission failed to ensure the state had enough power on hot summer nights after solar energy was largely unavailable.
President Trump characterized the energy crisis as a political issue in a tweet on Tuesday that said California Democrats “have deliberately implemented rolling blackouts – forcing Americans into the dark.”
However, the policy did not force network administrators to roll out Friday or Saturday, Berberich told reporters.
“There was no party association or other types of input in the decisions to hide (electricity) load on Friday and Saturday night,” he said.
Govin Newsom appoints members of the system administrator’s board, but he also shrugged off Trump’s diagnosis.
“Cal ISO is a federally regulated agency, and they are the ones responsible for the orders to pull back on the loads,” Newsom said Tuesday when asked about Trump’s comments on Twitter.
California once withstood harsh heat without experiencing energy shortages, especially in July 2006, when the grid saw a record 50,270 megawatts of electricity demand. No rolling blackouts occurred then as when demand in 2017 approached the record high.
But a major factor in recent days has been the extent to which other western U.S. states also have too much heat, allowing California to rely on imports from outside the state to close its energy shortages. Also, a number of coal plants in the western states have sprung up in recent years as the country tries to shift to more climate-friendly energy sources.
Other factors that shape the current crisis have included problems with power plant extinction and weather conditions sometimes limiting use of solar and wind energy.
However, Berberich opposes any suggestion that sustainable energy is to blame for the shortage. Instead, he said California needs to invest in even more clean energy infrastructure, including large numbers of batteries that can store solar energy for use when the sun is not shining.
“We need to think more about what the grid looks like now,” Berberich said. “The grid looks different than it did 10 years ago.”
The utility commission already has rules in place that account for the fact that solar production is declining in the evenings, but officials can further adjust the regulations in light of the current crisis. Commissioners have ordered 3,300 megawatts of new power to support the state’s grid, but it will not be available for another year.
A spokeswoman for the commission said the agency was still trying to understand how the recent shortfall occurred and promised an in-depth investigation – as Newsom asked.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. had expected first rolling blackouts on its territory Tuesday night that an estimated two hours would last. The company also conducted a search on pge.com/rotatingoutages for residents to see if their address would be affected.
The heat wave could begin to subside on Wednesday with a significant drop in temperatures arriving Thursday, according to the National Water Service. An extreme heat warning remains in effect for the Bay Area through 9 p.m. Wednesday, but the thunderstorms that pick up lightning bolts shooting into the dry hills, causing fires Sunday and Monday, are not expected to return.
Electricity network operators asked all Californians to save as much energy as possible between 3 and 10 a.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday. Residents can help by setting their air conditioners to 78 degrees, drawing shadows, turning off unnecessary lights, unplugging electrical appliances and using essential appliances only before 3pm or after 10am
San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Joe Garofoli and Michael Cabanatuan contributed to this report.
JD Morris is a staff writer at San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @thejdmorris
