Calif. faces massive power loss
SAN FRANCISCO — Up to 3.3 million homes in California were expected to lose power Monday as part of rolling blackouts to ease pressure on the state’s electric grid as a dayslong heat wave engulfing the West Coast creates an energy shortage, according to the operator of the grid.
The California Independent System Operator says it would likely order utility companies to turn off power starting around 4 p.m. as demand for electricity to cool homes soars during the hottest part of the day beyond the power available in the grid.
California ISO CEO and President Steve Berberich said the state is short about 4,400 megawatts, which equates to about 3.3 million homes, and those affected can expect to lose power for about two hours. He didn’t say where the outages might occur, which are up to the state’s utilities.
The grid operator ordered the first rolling blackouts in nearly 20 years Friday as unusually hot weather overwhelmed the state’s electrical grid. The state’s three biggest utilities — Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric — turned off power to more than 410,000 homes and businesses for about an hour at a time until the emergency declaration ended 3K hours later.
A second, but shorter, rolling outage came Saturday evening, cutting power to more than 200,000 customers. Californians packed beaches and river banks over the weekend to cool off from scorching triple-digit temperatures that raised the risk of more wildfires and fears of the coronavirus spreading.
An irate California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an emergency proclamation Monday allowing some energy users and utilities to tap backup energy sources as the soaring temperatures forced outages affecting hundreds of thousands of households.
Newsom acknowledged that the state failed to predict and plan for the energy shortages.
“I am not pleased with what’s happened,” he said during an afternoon press briefing. “You shouldn’t be pleased with the moment that we’re in in the state of California.”