Californians were asked to set their thermostats at 78 or higher over the weekend, and also to not charge up their electric cars. All this on the heels of a state plan approved last week to end the sale of new gas-powered cars in just 13 years.
With temperatures in California hovering between highs of 105 and 110 degrees in Southern California, the power grid is being put to the test, leading the California Independent System Operator, which runs the state’s electrical grid, to ask electric car owners to avoid charging vehicles between 4-9 pm, when the power grid was expected to be at its highest demand. Residents were also asked to avoid using major appliances.
“California and the West are expecting extreme heat that is likely to strain the grid with increased energy demands, especially over the holiday weekend,” the operator said in a statement. Since that statement, forecasters are saying the heat wave will continue into the midweek.
State energy officials said the electrical load on Tuesday potentially could hit 51,000 megawatts, the highest demand ever seen in California, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. California Independent System Operator on Monday requested the use of four temporary emergency power generators by the Department of Water Resources in Roseville and Yuba City. The generators, activated for the first time since they were installed last year, can provide up to 120 megawatts of electricity, enough to power up to 120,000 homes, the Chronicle wrote.
Also last week, the California State Assembly (legislature) voted to not shut down the nuclear power plant called Diablo Canyon in 2025, but to keep it open for another five years; the plant provides 9% of the state’s electricity.
