Electricity cut off in California in record heat: governor demands investigation - ForumDaily
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Electricity cut off in California in record heat: the governor demands an investigation

California Governor Gavin Newsom has demanded an investigation into why state residents were left without electricity during the heat wave and pandemic without prior warning and time to prepare. The decision came after the state went out of power for the first time in nearly two decades over the weekend (August 15-16). Writes about it The Guardian.

Photo: Shutterstock

On Monday, Gavin Newsom called the unexpected power outages "unacceptable."

“We failed to predict and plan for this electricity shortage, and that is unacceptable,” Newsom said. “As your governor, I have taken it upon myself to immediately address this issue to ensure this never happens again.”

He signed an emergency declaration allowing some energy consumers and utilities to use backup sources during peak hours.

Still, according to the state's largest grid manager, the California Independent System Operator (ISO), millions of Californians could face repeated blackouts this week.

On Monday, Aug 17, the ISO said it would likely order utility companies to turn off their electricity at around 16:00 pm local time, as demand for electricity to cool homes surges during the hottest part of the day.

Steve Berberich, CEO and president of ISO, said the state is short of about 4 megawatts, meaning up to 400 million homes could be left without electricity. Affected homes can expect a power outage of approximately two hours. He did not say where the outages might occur, it depends on the utilities.

The power outage occurred during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as well as very hot weather that caused thunderstorms, fire tornadoes and a record temperature of 54,4 ° C (129,9F) in California's Death Valley.

On the subject: Why electricity bills go up during a pandemic: what can be done about it

Recent power outages have not been carried out as they have been in the past as a safety measure to prevent forest fires. They were caused by power supply problems. Weekend electricity demand rose as Californians push home temperatures down as record heat continues.

The lack of power could be especially devastating now, while Americans are encouraged to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus and malls, libraries and other indoor public meeting places remain closed. Heat waves have deadly consequences, especially for the poor, minorities, older adults and people living without shelter—and extreme heat kills more Americans than all other natural disasters combined.

“I was extremely surprised when this happened,” said David Marcus, a Bay Area energy consultant and former adviser to the California Energy Commission.

The International Organization for Standardization, a nonprofit organization that regulates electricity supplies to much of California, said it ordered power outages for more than 410 homes and businesses for three and a half hours on Friday, Aug. 000, after an "unexpected loss" of 14 megawatts at the power plant and 470 megawatts of wind power. On Saturday evening, August 1000, ISO announced a second, shorter outage, cutting power to more than 15 customers.

Authorities have issued a recommendation until Wednesday, August 19, urging Californians to voluntarily save energy by turning off unnecessary appliances.

The ISO traditionally issues a Level 3 alert, which forces the state's largest utilities to shut off power to some customers when the state's energy reserves are 3% or lower. Reserves stood at 15% on Saturday, Aug. 8,9, when the ISO issued its phase three warning, Marcus said. "I'm very curious to know what their explanation is for why they turned off people's lights when they had 8,9% reserves - when they told citizens they wouldn't do it until they reached 3% reserves."

On the subject: Fires, evacuations, power outages: California was hit by a thunderstorm with hundreds of lightning

"I think they had adequate access to power, but they didn't manage those assets properly," said Bill Powers, a San Diego-based energy consultant.

Powers believes the energy authority has focused on cost-effectiveness, which may have deprived the company of incentives to use older, more expensive power plants as back-up sources. Notably, non-ISO utilities, including the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, had no power outages.

“What this means to me is that utilities are just more aware of the need to serve their customers rather than just using them as a basis for making a profit,” Power said.

The persistent power outages this weekend were the first since the 2001 energy crisis, in which energy traders from Enron Corp and others took advantage of loopholes in the state's newly regulated electricity system and cut off electricity to drive up prices.

In a warning issued on Sunday, the ISO said the heatwave "is causing supply congestion and consumers need to be prepared for potential disruptions at the end of the day."

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

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Fires, evacuations, power outages: California was hit by a thunderstorm with hundreds of lightning

The highest temperature on Earth: a new record was recorded in Death Valley

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Miscellanea In the U.S. electricity California
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