California Braces for Rolling Blackouts

“The California Independent System Operator (ISO) is alerting Californians to be ready for potential rotating power outages on Tuesday evening, as the hottest weather of this historic heat wave is forecast to push electricity demand to an all-time high,” California ISO stated in a news release.

“If outages are initiated, consumers can expect to receive notifications from power providers on areas affected and time duration.”

“We have now entered the most intense phase of this heat wave,” Eliot Mainzer, the head of the California ISO, said on Monday.

California is set to declare a level-3 grid emergency, one step away from rolling power outages.

JUST IN – California to declare level-3 grid emergency, one step away from rolling power outages.https://t.co/Jrreo8jNcO pic.twitter.com/RtiL6Hk74T

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 6, 2022

Gov. Gavin Newsom gave this address to Californians:

CA is experiencing an unprecedented heatwave. This will be the hottest & longest on record for September.

Our energy grid is being pushed to its max. The risk of outages is real.

We need everyone to double down to save energy after 4pm today.pic.twitter.com/6QWozS0pyp

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 6, 2022

KCRA 3 reported:

California was able to avoid rolling blackouts Monday evening, but with Tuesday shaping up to be another scorching-hot day, the state’s grid operator says rolling outages are still possible.

The California Independent System Operator, or Cal ISO, issued what it calls an Energy Emergency Alert 2 Notice for Monday from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., which is the last step before it declares rolling blackouts are imminent. With an EEA 2, Cal ISO says all available resources are in use.

Cal ISO also issued an Energy Emergency Alert Watch for Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. With an EEA Watch, energy deficiencies are expected and the grid manager will seek to get additional energy from other sources to help avoid the risk of a rolling blackout.

The Energy Emergency Alert Watch is not as critical an alert as an EEA 2, but it could be upgraded if energy demand outpaces maximum grid capacity.

Cal ISO head Elliot Mainzer said on Monday that Tuesday’s estimated demand for power will be 51,000 megawatts. For reference, Monday’s estimated demand was 48,000 megawatts.

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He said that the state’s grid will need about two to three times as much conservation from people across the state at homes and businesses as has been the case recently during flex alerts.

The Sacramento Bee added:

On a day forecast to become the hottest in city history, Sacramento Municipal Utility District said it “anticipates energy shortfalls” that may lead to rolling power outages Tuesday afternoon or evening, a measure SMUD has not taken in more than two decades.

The utility company in social media posts Tuesday morning said “record demand” has led to “critically tight power supplies across the state,” and that unless customers reduce consumption, especially from 4 p.m. through 9 p.m., emergency one-hour rotating outages may be necessary.

“SMUD would rotate outages by sections until the emergency is over. No section will be repeated until all 39 sections have been cycled through,” SMUD wrote in tweets.

“Should rotating outages become necessary, affected customers will be given as much advanced notice as possible, and no customer will be out of power for more than approximately one hour.”