California Declares Grid Emergency (For 5th Straight Day) As Blackout Risks Surge

For the 5th straight day, California Independent System Operator (California ISO) declared a grid emergency Monday afternoon. The grid operator forecasts record high demand on Tuesday, with the possibility of ‘rotating outages’ as early as today. A menacing statewide heatwave has sparked huge demand for electricity while generating capacity remains subdued. 

*CALIFORNIA GRID CEO SAYS ROTATING OUTAGES ‘POSSIBLE’ MONDAY

And California didn’t even get disconnected from Russia

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 5, 2022

The historic heat bearing down on California will push the state’s electricity system to its limit. Millions of homes and businesses are cranking air condition use to the max, contributing to what could be record high electricity demand tomorrow. 

*CALIFORNIA ISO SEES ALL-TIME RECORD DEMAND ON TUESDAY

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 5, 2022

The grid operator is preparing for electricity demand to hit 48.9 GW on Monday, the most since 2017, with a record high expected on Tuesday. 

Notably, despite 5 days of warnings, the virtuous Californians are using more electricity today than at any time during the week…

Bob Oravec, a senior branch forecaster with the US Weather Prediction Center, told Bloomberg many areas in the state would register in triple-digit territory early this week. 

Much of California is under an excessive heat warning for the next four days. Sacramento could reach 113 on Monday and 115 on Tuesday shattering records for those days, Oravec said. Downtown Los Angeles reached 103 on Sunday, which was the first time the temperature broke 100 this year. – Bloomberg 

Daily high temps across the state should peak by mid-week. 

Power prices in the southern part of the state jumped above $200 per megawatt hour. 

California ISO warned that ‘rotating outages’ are possible Monday, adding customers need to reduce energy consumption even more, to keep the lights on.

*CALIFORNIA NEEDS 2X TO 3X MORE CONSERVATION TO KEEP LIGHTS ON

Why is nobody volunteering to turn off all their appliances?

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 5, 2022

State officials continue to ask residents not to charge EVs to help with grid stability.