Heat Continues to Stress California Grid, Rolling Blackouts Possible

California Grid Heat

(Credit: Pixabay)

by | Sep 6, 2022

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California Grid Heat

(Credit: Pixabay)

The California Independent System Operator issued an energy emergency on Sept. 5, with the possibility of more conservation measures that include rolling blackouts in store for the rest of the week as a significant heatwave in the state continues.

To this point, blackouts have been avoided and the Energy Emergency Alert 1 was allowed to expire. However, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) says going to an Energy Emergency Alert 2 or greater is possible on Sept. 6 as temperatures continue to climb passed 110 degrees Fahrenheit across much of the state.

Forecast energy demand is expected to surpass 51 gigawatts on Sept. 6, breaking California’s previous high of 50.2 GW in 2006. CAISO says it expects an energy supply deficiency between 400 megawatts and 3.4 GW at some point in the day.

The ISO says if conditions continue to deteriorate a level 3 energy emergency could be declared, which would include rolling blackouts. California last implemented rolling blackouts lasting anywhere from 15 minutes to two-and-a-half hours in August 2020 during heat and wildfire conditions that impacted 800,000 businesses and residences.

“We never want to get to that point, of course, but we want everyone to be prepared and understand what is at stake,” says CAISO President and CEO Elliot Mainzer. “We can’t control the weather, but we really can bend the demand curve and get through this successfully if everyone doubles down and reduces their energy use as much as possible.”

Other actions the state has taken include Gov. Gavin Newsom’s emergency order last week that includes allowing commercial and industrial sites to use backup generators. According to the Sacramento Bee, the governor is also asking for businesses to cut their energy use to help the state avoid blackouts.

Bloomberg writes that the increased energy demand in California as a result of the heat emergency has also caused prices to skyrocket. Wholesale power prices have reached $2,000 a megawatt hour, according to the Bloomberg report. Reuters reported that energy prices from the Palo Verde hub in Arizona and SP-15 in Southern California rose to $850 and $505 per megawatt hour, respectively, their highest since the 2020 energy emergency.

Conservation measures as a result of the energy flex alerts by commercial and other energy users have helped reduce energy demand by around 1 GW daily throughout the heat event, the CAISO says. Conservation measures have been implemented for seven consecutive days.

As part of an energy emergency alert 2, CAISO activates its energy response system and requests emergency energy from all sources. During a level 3 alert, the ISO is unable to meet minimum contingency reserve requirements and controlled power restrictions are imminent or in progress and maximum conservation by users is requested.

If rolling blackouts are needed, a specific energy load is directed to utilities to keep the grid balanced, according to CAISO guidelines. Utilities follow their individual plans designed to reduce power consumption in the most strategic areas to reduce stress on the grid as well as limit outages to the shortest amount of time possible.

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