California governor seeks probe into rolling blackouts

State institutes first targeted outages since 2001 crisis.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom called for an investigation into why officials failed to anticipate the need for rolling blackouts that have plunged millions of people into darkness.

In the past three days, the state has instituted the first targeted outages since the 2001 energy crisis to protect a system strained by a crush of demand for air conditioning during a heat wave. The region’s electricity system operator has warned of more rotating outages through Wednesday with temperatures forecast to reach as high as 112 degrees in some parts of the state.

“These blackouts, which occurred without prior warning or enough time for preparation, are unacceptable and unbefitting of the nation’s largest and most innovative state,” Newsom said in a statement.

Part of the problem is California’s rapid shift away from natural gas. About 9 gigawatts of gas generation, enough to power 6.8 million homes, have been retired over the past five years as the state turns increasingly to renewables. That leaves fewer options when the sun sets and solar production wanes.

Normally, California can import enough power from neighboring states when supplies are tight. But the sprawling heat wave blanketing the U.S. West is pushing power plants to the hilt across the region.

Newsom, a Democrat, also signed an order that will temporarily allow users and utilities to use backup generators to ease the need for blackouts. director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford University

By 10 a.m. local time Monday it was already 93 degrees in Sacramento. With temperatures climbing, demand for power in the state was expected to reach more than 49,700 megawatts Monday afternoon, just shy of the alltime record set in 2006.

Since Friday, millions of Californians have been abruptly plunged into darkness with little notice as utilities work to keep the state’s grid from collapsing.

With COVID-19 still spreading, the powerless have faced a difficult choice between enduring the heat at home and seeking relief elsewhere in a state that’s reported more infections than any other.

These blackouts are hitting less than a year after California’s utilities deliberately cut power to millions to keep their electrical lines from sparking fires during unusually strong windstorms.

The relentless heat is starting to take a physical toll on California’s power system. Transformers — the metal cylinders sitting atop power poles — can malfunction and catch fire if they don’t cool off at night. And temperatures in some parts of Southern California are expected to remain in the low 80s overnight. During a deadly, 10-day heatwave in 2006, the state’s utilities lost more than 1,500 of these devices, with each knocking out service to one neighborhood in the process.

California’s outages began on Friday, when a power plant malfunctioned just as the heat sent electricity demand surging to a peak. Grid operators ordered utilities to cut back and about 2 million people lost service over the course of four hours. A similar episode played out Saturday, when an estimated 352,500 homes and businesses briefly went dark.

“I’m pretty shocked by this — I think everybody is,” said Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford University. “This has to be addressed with a lot of attention, and fast.”

‘I’m pretty shocked by this — I think everybody is. This has to be addressed with a lot of attention, and fast.’