Continuing heatwave puts strain on California electrical grid

Over the weekend, reports Bloomberg, the California Independent System Operator (ISO) declared two grid emergencies. The region’s electricity system operator has warned of more rotating outages through Wednesday with temperatures forecast to reach as high as 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44 degrees Celsius) in some areas.

“It’s going to be tight,” said Severin Borenstein, a board member of the ISO and energy economist at the University of California, Berkeley, according to SFGate. “There is a real concern that they would have to do it again tomorrow and Tuesday,” he said Sunday about the rolling outages.

The power grid gets the most stress in the late afternoon and early evening because of higher demand – which coincides with the sun going down. Temperatures in the Central Valley climbed above 110 Fahrenheit (43 Celcius) during the day, and are expected to stay as high as nearly 80 degrees until Thursday.

Yep it was HOT out there today…

So hot in fact, that the PRELIMINARY high temperature @DeathValleyNPS was 130°F. If verified, this will be the hottest temperature officially verified since July of 1913. For more info…https://t.co/qFXcIVoPig href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/DeathValley?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#DeathValley #Climate #CAwx pic.twitter.com/lAl8NQDCyp

— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) August 17, 2020

Monday and Tuesday “will be quite hot, and there will be a number of records again,” said David Roth, a senior branch forecaster with the U.S. Weather Prediction Center. “It is pretty much the whole West.”

The heat is crippling other states, as well
With California’s increasing reliance on renewable energy sources, during the summer months, they generally buy additional energy from neighboring states when experiencing a hot spell. But this heatwave is sweeping other Western states as well, Borenstein said.

“They are literally calling as well as emailing and saying, ‘Do you have any power to sell us to everyone in the West,’” he said. “But they can’t force the other areas to sell their electricity when those other areas need it for themselves.”

The California #heatwave has us like: pic.twitter.com/TGr4zPkBxI

— Gamechangers (@Gamechangersus) August 15, 2020

Over 52 million people remain under heat alerts in the West on Monday, reports NBC News. It is forecast that high temperatures could range from between 110 and 130 degrees.

Phoenix, Arizona tied its all-time August temperature, hitting 117 degrees on Friday. Billings, Montana, might see a high of its own Monday, with temperatures possibly climbing to 101, and Sacramento might break a record as well, with forecasts of a high of 108 degrees.