California energy officials on Tuesday said the state’s power planning processes were insufficient to address a crushing heat wave in August that led to rolling blackouts for two days. In a preliminary analysis that was requested by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the heads of three state energy bodies said there was no single cause of the outages.
New wildfires ravaged bone-dry California during a scorching Labor Day weekend that saw a dramatic airlift of more than 200 people trapped by flames and ended with the state’s largest utility turning off power to 172,000 customers to try to prevent its power lines and other equipment from sparking more fires.
Last month as a heat wave slammed California, state regulators sent an email to a group of energy executives pleading for help. “Please consider this an urgent inquiry on behalf of the state,” the message said.
The sad reality is that the blackouts rolling across California this past week were both predictable and avoidable. The silver lining is that future blackouts across California are avoidable – if we invest in large-scale energy storage projects to provide on-demand power.
Energy analysts have warned for years that California’s embrace of renewable energy sources – while laudable – create significant risks that can and should be addressed to sustain our economy and quality of life while maintaining progress toward the state’s climate goals. What no one could have known was that we’d be roiled by a pandemic and a recession when the energy grid’s weaknesses were exposed for everyone to see.
The sad reality is that the blackouts rolling across California this week were both predictable and avoidable. The silver lining is that future blackouts across California are avoidable – if we invest in large-scale energy storage projects to provide on-demand power.
California’s power grid operator delivered a blistering rebuke Monday to the state’s Public Utilities Commission, blaming the agency for rotating power outages — the first since the 2001 energy crisis — and warning of bigger blackouts to come.
San Diego Gas & Electric was directed to begin rolling blackouts Monday that could have effected 100,000 customers, but the power crisis was averted at the last moment. “Rotating outages were averted in San Diego and southern Orange counties today, in part thanks to local residents and businesses heeding the call to cut back on energy usage amid a prolonged heat wave and exceptionally high energy demand,” the utility said in a statement.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
