As California struggles to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, raging heat and wildfires, it faces another dangerous crisis: blackouts.
When temperature records broke across the state, California energy officials announced the first rolling blackouts in the state since 2001 and warned that state bracing was what could be the biggest power outage it has ever seen, probably on Monday.
When asked about the number of Californians who will be affected and how it is going historically, the president / CEO of the Independent Services Operator said – the nonprofit that serves the state’s power grid – he was not quite sure.
“I can’t talk about historical comparison,” Steve Berberich said. “I was not here during the energy crisis.”
When Berberich was impressed by a reporter who had run the figures and estimated that 3.3 million Californians would be affected, judging that his calculations were “Probably fairly accurate.”
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In 2001, the Los Angeles Times estimated that the power outages affected 2 million people. Given that number, 3.3 million people without power would be at least 1/3 larger.
ISO officials said they were shutting down power to residents to prevent events of even greater magnitude.
“We avoid demand exceeding supply to ensure that there is no widespread system crash,” said ISO Market Policy and Performance VP Mark Rothleder.
On Monday, officials said they expect blackouts to begin around 4 a.m. and extend by at least 10 hours into 2 hour blocks for each affected area.
A major problem is a shortage of power that could be imported from utilities in neighboring states. California was able to bridge the holes in previous heat waves because it could bring in power. This time, however, “we are facing reduced imports as the West warms,” Berberich said.
Governor Gavin Newsom said the state used “all the tools in the toolkit” to meet the demand. “We’ll probably fall short,” he said, as oppressive temperatures strain the state’s energy system, which serves five million households and businesses.
The National Water Service warned of potentially record-breaking heat in the LA area on Monday and Tuesday.
Newssom notes that temperatures in Death Valley reached 130 degrees on Sunday, a peak that has not been hit since at least 1931, according to the National Weather Service. As a reference point, the hottest temperature ever officially recorded on earth was 134 degrees, also in Death Valley, in 1913.
Newsom added that “fairly exceptional weather conditions” have also put firefighters under enormous pressure as they battled fireworks across the state.
Newsom pointed to the state’s shift to sustainable resources as part of the reason for the supply shortage. Shutting down polluting gas power plants has made holes in the state’s energy supply, he said.
While the state is committed to a greener future, Newsom said, “We can not sacrifice credibility” and promised that officials “would be much more aggressive … to make sure that is the case.”
Large energy users are allowed to shift to backup sources and stored energy that is typically limited when government officials work to urgently deploy more resources systematically, according to the mayor.
A statewide Flex Alert urging residents to voluntarily save electricity will remain in effect until Wednesday. Officials are also urging companies nationwide to limit their use. In some cases, the state asks business owners to outreach to their customers about energy savings. Newsom cited Telsa, a major manufacturer of electric cars, as one of the companies working closely with the state.
The California ISO issued the Flex Alert on Sunday, saying there is not enough energy to meet high consumer demand during the record-breaking heat wave. To minimize the need for controlled outages, residents were asked to use air conditioning early in the day and set up
thermostats at 78 in the afternoon and evening hours, while using large appliances between the hours of 3pm to 10pm.
The warning followed blackouts on Friday and Saturday that Newsom said came without warning.
The governor met yesterday with the California Independent System Administrator (CAISO), the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the California Energy Commission (CEC), the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and senior administration officials. called the disturbances of the weekend services “unacceptable.”
Newsom announced Monday that it had signed an emergency proclamation to free up energy capacity.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said Friday’s rolling blackouts did not include city residents. “We have our own energy plants and transmission line and had enough supply to meet demand + reserves,” the department tweets. “We encourage our customers to maintain to help city networks and reduce system taxes.”
On Saturday, high temperatures increased the demand for electricity while one power plant was down and wind energy fell short, making a Stage 3 electrical emergency supply last 20 minutes. It was called at 6:28 p.m., causing rolling outages to be immediate as in approach, according to the California ISO.
No major outages were reported by Southern California Edison on Monday, but peak demand for power would likely trigger outages later in the day.
In a letter, the governor said the blackouts were requested and Saturday without notice and required an investigation.
“Residents, communities and other government organizations have not been given enough warning that these de-energisations can occur.
Together, energy regulators failed to anticipate this event and take necessary actions to ensure reliable power for Californians, “Newsom wrote.
“This can not exist,” Newsom said at his press conference this afternoon. “California residents and businesses deserve better from their government.”
Berberich said the ISO did a bad job of warning residents, utilities “and in particular the governor’s office” last weekend that blackouts were improvising.
“We own that and we’m sorry,” he said.
Power suppliers say a lack of supply from outside the state contributed to the shortage as other western states struggled to meet their own demand during the heatwave.
During his news conference Monday afternoon, the mayor promised that the investigation would be rapid and extensive.
The stakes are high for Newsom, which two weeks ago had a failure of the state’s coronavirus data system; it was seen in 2001 that blackouts contributed to the political death of then-governor Gray Davis. He was recalled by voters in 2003.
City News Service contributed to this report.
