California’s power grid once again didn’t break despite being stretched to the limit as a punishing heat wave continues to test the state’s ability to keep the lights on.
(Bloomberg) — California’s power grid once again didn’t break despite being stretched to the limit as a punishing heat wave continues to test the state’s ability to keep the lights on.
The grid operator late Wednesday canceled an emergency without having to resort to planned outages. It was the third day in a row that’s happened, and the eighth straight that the state has called on consumers to conserve power as extreme temperatures cause air-conditioning use to rise.
Thursday promises to be another tense standoff, with demand forecast near a record high set Tuesday and the California Independent System Operator, or Caiso, already declaring an emergency watch. The heat is expected to dip, but only slightly, with temperatures in Sacramento expected to reach 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44 Celsius).
“It will be 105 to 110, so we won’t say it’s cooler — just not as hot,” said David Rowe, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
Wednesday’s situation never became as dire as Tuesday, when the grid declared its highest level of emergency and warned that blackouts were imminent. Outages ended up being averted only after an emergency alert asking for conservation sent to mobile phones led to a sharp decline in use.
Read: A Text Alert May Have Saved California From Power Blackouts
On Wednesday, only the second-highest emergency level was declared, and no emergency alerts needed to be sent. Demand appeared to peak at about 50.1 gigawatts, well below the 52 gigawatt record set on Tuesday, according to Caiso. Thursday’s forecasted peak is 51.3 gigawatts.
Still, PG&E Corp., the state’s biggest utility, notified more than 525,000 customers on Wednesday to prepare for rotating outages.
The relentless heat wave risks overextending the old natural gas-fired power plants that California has relied on to help stave off vast outages this week. The longer these conditions endure, the higher the chances of plant failures.
Also read: Confusion Reigns With Muddled Messages of California Blackouts
Tuesday’s conditions “showed us that we are facing very serious grid conditions that require a serious response,” said Elliot Mainzer, chief executive officer of Caiso, in a video statement Wednesday. “Today, with the heat and high demand for power continuing, we are facing another challenging day for the grid.”
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