California readies to prevent blackouts, but threats remain
ADAM BEAM, 19 May 2021
California’s top energy regulators on Tuesday said the state is better prepared to avoid last summer’s rotating blackouts, but they cautioned the power grid of the nation’s most populous state is still vulnerable to extreme heat waves that could force more outages later this year.
State officials say they have acquired an additional 3,500 megawatts of capacity ahead of a likely scorching summer that threatens to increase demand beyond what the grid can handle. That includes an additional 2,000 megawatts of batteries designed to store energy generated from renewable sources — like solar — that stop working when it gets dark.
In general, one megawatt of energy is enough to power hundreds of homes, depending on how it is generated.
“Does that mean we are in the clear? Not necessarily,” Elliot Mainzer, president and CEO of the California Independent Systems Operator, told state lawmakers during an oversight hearing Tuesday. “The most significant risk factor for grid reliability remains extreme heat, particularly heat that spreads across the wider western United States. And it continues to get hotter every year.”
More than an inconvenience, power outages during a major heat wave can also be deadly for vulnerable people while causing a host of other problems in a digital age that relies on electricity for everything from business transactions to Facebook posts.
