SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – The California Independent System Administrator (ISO) declared Friday a statewide Stage 3 power outage as excessive heat pushed up electricity use and set records over the Bay Area, causing rolling blackouts across the state until the power grid stabilized.
A Stage 3 emergency means that the state power grid does not meet the demand and rotating power outages may be required.
The California ISO declared the emergency shelter shortly after 6:30 p.m., and targeted utilities around the state to hide their power loads.
Government officials reduced energy demand from Phase 3 to Phase 2 by 9 p.m.
“Power that was interrupted as part of the state of emergency was restored statewide,” the California ISO said in a statement. “The network operator went into Phase 3 emergency at 6:36 a.m., ordering utilities to implement rotating power supplies to protect the stability of the network. By 7:51 p.m., it had not stabilized, and utilities began recovering 1,000 megawatts of electricity that had been taken out of service. The emergency declaration was lifted at 8:54 p.m. The ISO network operators keep the demand and demand closely monitored during the extreme heat event. ”
“Extreme heat is really the driver behind this,” said Anne Gonzales, spokeswoman for the power grid operator.
The move came as temperatures around the state hit double digits in many areas and use of air conditioning went up.
Temperatures were 10 to 20 degrees above normal in some areas, Gonzales said.
In addition, cloudy weather from the remnants of a tropical weather system reduced energy production from solar plants, she said.
The expectation of the heat wave will last new week and the power grid operator will decide if the outages continue on a day-to-day basis, Gonzales said.
“We are dealing with weather, clouds, wildfires … these are situations that are evolving rapidly, changing rapidly,” Gonzales said.
California set off its first rolling blackouts since the energy crisis in 2001 on Friday, when a burning heat wave cut off electricity supplies.
According to PG&E, at about 7.30pm, the Bayage outages included an outage in San Rafael that affected 50,000 customers, a proportionally large outage in Santa Rosa that also affected 50,000 and a third outage in San Mateo that affected 35,000 customers. Additional outages were reported in American Canyon and Alameda.
PG&E said the outages would last about an hour. At 9pm, Alameda Municipal Power tweeted that the energy crisis was over – “We have instructed the California Independent System Operator that it has not been stabilized. All power has been restored to the west side and there will be no further outages tonight. ”
A release issued by the ISO said the organization is working closely with utilities and adjacent power systems to manage the voltage on the grid and limit any potential power outages. Those interested can see where the state stands with energy consumption on the ISO website.
The heat warnings and watches issued by the NWS had already prompted the California ISO to issue a Flex Alert on Thursday, calling for voluntary electricity management by state residents from 3 pm to 10 pm on Friday.
Consumers are encouraged to save electricity, especially in the late afternoon and early evening when the grid is most stressed due to higher demand and production of solar energy. Consumers should also consider turning off unnecessary lights, using large appliances for 3 hours and after 10 hours, and setting climate thermostats at 78 degrees or higher.
More information about Flex Alerts and tips for electricity protection can be found on the ISO Flex Alert website.
Temperature records, some set just last year, fell on Friday because the Bay Area is in the middle of a prolonged heat wave.
Numerous daily record highs are likely to be bounded as broken on Friday, with high temperatures around the bay expected to die in the 1990s and domestic temperatures expected to blow past the century mark.
On Friday afternoon, the National Water Service noted that records have already been broken in several cities, with temperatures expected to rise later in the day.
At 1:50 a.m., temperatures in downtown San Francisco were 90 degrees, beating the record of 86 sets in 1995. Across the bay in Oakland, the temperature was 91, breaking the record of 90 sets last year. Meanwhile in San Jose, the temperature in the early afternoon was 99, which also broke a record set of 98 degrees last year.
In Salinas, the record of 84 degrees was set last year, when temperatures rose early on Friday afternoon.
Official heights are not yet in place, but a few sites have already broken daily record high temperatures.
Downtown SF: 90 86/1995
Oakland: 91 90/2019
San Jose: 99 98/2019
Salinas: 102 84/2019#CAwx #CAHeat– NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) August 14, 2020
According to KPIX 5’s Mary Lee, Friday’s high in Concord is expected to reach 108, which would shatter the 104-degree record set on this day in 2019. Livermore is expected to reach a height of 106 degrees, a record set in 1967, while Santa Rosa was able to break a record of 101 degrees last year.
Even coastal areas could see tires as broken on Friday. Half Moon Bay could see an altitude of 76 degrees, which would break the record of 74 sets on this day in 1965.
Much of the Bay Area off the coast, including the North Bay Mountains, East Bay Valleys, East Bay Hills and the Diablo Range, along with the Santa Clara Valley, are in the middle of a disproportionate warning for heat that continues through 9 a.m. Wednesday.
The weather service has also issued a hot advice for areas around San Francisco Bay, the North Bay valleys and the Santa Cruz Mountains from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday.
In addition, the District Bay Air Quality Management District issued a Spare the Air alarm for Friday.
© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press and Bay City News have contributed to this report
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