A late summer heat wave in Southern California typically sends people fleeing to cinemas, shopping malls and crowded beaches in search of a cool rest.
But the coronavirus pandemic has forced the closure of places where people once gathered, and these routines up.
As temperatures rose Friday, many people stayed at home instead of blowing up their air conditioners. Even though many offices and businesses were closed due to the pandemic, that intense demand – along with other factors including a shortage of power entering other states – was enough to make the most serious statewide energy shortage in nearly 20 years, his officials. On Saturday night, a portion of temporary blackouts were ordered in parts of the state.
The California Independent System Operator, the body that runs the power grid for most of California, declared a statewide Stage 3 emergency on Friday and ordered utilities to shed about 1,000 megawatts, prompting rolling blackouts across the state. One megawatt makes about 750 homes, said spokeswoman Anne Gonzales.
It was the first time since 2001 that state-owned companies of electric networks had to take the drastic step.
The exact causes of the power shortage remained somewhat of a mystery on Saturday. The rolling blackout of two decades ago happened after deregulation of the energy markets, leading to manipulations for profit by companies like Enron. One question ahead will be what role market forces as planning by regulators have played in the deficit.
At the same time, California has seen a shift in its power supply over the past two decades, relying more on solar and gradually less on fossil fuels.
The blackouts, which typically lasted an hour or two, cut power to more than 130,000 customers in Southern California Edison and about 220,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers in the provinces of El Dorado, Napa, Marin, San Mateo and Sonoma.
In addition to the spike in question, the full width of the heat wave, which occupies an enormous bay of the western United States, was a major culprit. The record heat caused electricity shortages in many neighboring states, and prevented them from exporting excessive energy to California, officials said.
“Because we are all connected, when there is a need in California, power will flow from the state generation into the state, and that helps meet the demand,” said Robert Villegas, spokesman for Southern California Edison. “But if other states also experienced high heat conditions and widespread demand for their systems, much of that power would stay closer to where it is produced.”
Somehow the power shortage was counterproductive, considering how many offices and businesses were closed due to the pandemic.
But even under these circumstances, the general demand for electricity has followed the usual pattern: climbing during the work week and climbing over the weekend, according to Gonzales. Officials initially thought this would prevent further disruptions over the weekend, but Saturday night both Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric announced more blackouts. Edison in Southern California also warned of more blackouts.
Aid companies in the state urged customers to save energy by doing things like setting the thermostat no lower than 78 degrees and unplug unused appliances.
“I always tell people that everything your mother told you when you were little was actually true,” Villegas said. ‘Do not leave the refrigerator door open when thinking about what you need to get inside. Do not leave the back door open as it will let the heat out. Turn off lights when not in use. … The simple things are really where it is here. ”
The COVID-19 pandemic has also caused cities and counties across the state to reconsider how they operate cold stores, another crucial part of how the region protects its residents during heat waves. The centers often attract elderly people and people with underlying health conditions that make them particularly susceptible to heat or illness.
A report on the Kern County website highlighting new precautions says people seeking shelter will be screened for fever and other COVID-19 symptoms before entering a cold store and those showing signs of the disease, will not be allowed inside. Once inside, people will be asked to stay six feet apart and be “encouraged” to wear a face mask, the website says.
The city of Los Angeles, which opened refrigeration centers Friday, is also screening for COVID symptoms at the door and then requiring people to stay masked and separate from once inside. Staff wear personal protective equipment, including masks and gloves.
“Normally, our facilities can accommodate many more people, but through COVID capacity is reduced,” said Emergency Management Coordinator Sonya Young Jimenez. As of Saturday afternoon, Jimenez said she was unaware that anyone had to be turned away because they were suspected of COVID-19.
At the same time, wildfires are burning in the Angeles National Forest above Lake Hughes and Azusa heavy in air quality, prompting public health officials on Saturday to warn people to avoid unnecessary exposure to the outdoors and still set a limit on options to escape the heat.
“I think there are a variety of factors that we all need to worry about,” said Margie Otto, spokeswoman for Pasadena Power and Water. “There is the potential for fires, the high heat, the energy consumption and all the sources for energy generation.”
The utility received a Cal ISO directive to load Friday at about 7:30 p.m., followed by another notification half an hour later that it was no longer needed, she said. About 1,500 of their 65,000 electrical customers were without power for 30 minutes.
Edison in Southern California cut power on about 132,000 of its 5 million customers Friday night, each about an hour, Villegas said. All customers had their power restored at 8 p.m., he said.
“Typically what happened [the blackouts] will be done in small blocks that encompass parts of communities so that we do not close a province or something like that, ”he said. He said the utility is also cautious about cutting power to critical facilities such as hospitals and public safety buildings.
The purpose of the controlled shutoffs is to prevent longer and more widespread outages due to equipment failures that can result when high demand overwhelms the system, he said. The utility has also deployed emergency management crew members throughout their host region to respond quickly to and repair these types of outages before the heatwave
“We fully understand that it is a burden when you are without power, especially at a time when options are limited,” Villegas said. “When students are at home and now starting online from school and people who work at home, of course their right to exist and their education are things we look for. We try to limit as little as we can for people in their homes. . “
Cal ISO also directed San Diego Gas & Electric to implement rotating blackouts Friday night. The aid program shuts off power to about 58,700 customers in San Diego County and southern Orange County for about an hour each, it said.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said its customers were not affected by the statewide blackouts because the department generates, imports and sends its own electricity and was able to meet the city’s demand.
In fact, the utility, which has never had to implement rolling blackouts due to excessive demand, could sell 225 megawatts to California ISO between 5pm and 9pm, said spokesman Joe Ramallo.
Still, he said, the heat punished local power distribution networks, leading to isolated strikes unrelated to the statewide rolling blackouts, as some equipment became overloaded and failed. About 1,000 of DWP’s 1.5 million customers were without power as of Saturday morning, most of them in the San Fernando Valley. On Friday night, localized strikes were reported in Sunland and Wilmington, Ramallo said.
The problem can be particularly acute with prolonged heat waves such as these, when night temperatures do not drop enough for the electrical equipment to cool down, he said.
“It’s like running your car at 100 mph non-stop and not giving it a break,” Ramallo said. “You will eventually have some problems appearing, and in this case there will be failed equipment and transformers.”
Officials are cautiously optimistic that they can come in the next few days without additional blackouts. The California ISO does not expect to order rolling outages for the rest of the weekend, Gonzales said.
“The temperatures will probably be a little lower than yesterday and it’s the weekend that we see a little less demand,” she said.
