After over a week of blackout warnings, California’s electrical grid manager, California Independent Systems Operator (CAISO), issued a statewide emergency alert Friday that urged Californians to turn up their thermostats during the evening for the tenth straight day.
The grid operator issued another “Flex Alert” calling on residents to turn up their thermostats to 78 degrees Fahrenheit or higher during the hours of 4-9 p.m. for the tenth day in a row, according to the CAISO website. California’s grid began experiencing difficulties on Aug. 31 after a heat wave led to increased energy demand and CAISO has been urging residents for over a week to curb power consumption to prevent blackouts. (RELATED: California’s Grid Braces For Failure Just Days After Biden’s Energy Secretary Praises State’s Green Policies)
CAISO also issued a level two energy emergency alert on Thursday and Tuesday and was two steps away from ordering statewide “rotating power outages” (rolling blackouts) to avoid permanently damaging the grid.
A “Flex Alert” is often issued when extremely hot weather drives up electricity demand, making energy supplies scarce in the evening hours when solar panels cannot generate power, according to CAISO. Solar energy accounted for over 17% of the state’s power supply in 2021, according to the California Energy Commission.
We are grateful to Californians and our many partners across the West who continue to help the #ISO work through this very challenging week. Thank you! Reminder: A #FlexAlert is in effect tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 9, from 4-9 p.m.
— California ISO (@California_ISO) September 9, 2022
The state government and the grid operator are accelerating their plans to transition to a green energy economy and fulfill their climate goals. California plans to produce 100% of its energy from “clean” sources by 2045, according to the California Energy Commission.
“The century-old electric grid is evolving into a modern and sophisticated machine to unlock a greener economy and fight off global warming,” CAISO states on its website. “Coordinating the alignment of environmental and energy goals is critical to developing a cleaner, reliable and more weather-resilient power grid.”
However, both CAISO and Democratic Gov. Newsom of California recently extended the operation of jet-fueled and nuclear power plants to avoid blackouts.
CAISO told the Daily Caller News Foundation that it was currently unable to provide an update on the status of the California grid.
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