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The National Weather Service extended its heat advisory in the Bay Area Monday as a heat wave continued to blanket the region, leading to power outages and a statewide call to decrease energy use during peak hours.
The weather service issued an excessive heat warning Thursday ahead of a sweltering weekend that saw temperatures climb above 100. On Monday, that heat advisory was extended in the Bay Area and Central Coast through Wednesday with no imminent sign of milder weather.
Daily inland afternoon highs will sit in the upper 90s and 100s, forecasters said, with coastal areas sitting in the high 70s and 80s. Accumulating heat stress is expected to affect the general public, pets, vegetation and livestock across the region.
Following power outages across the Bay Area over the weekend due to the heat, the California Independent System Operator issued a statewide flex alert to call for decreased energy use between 3 and 10 p.m. through Wednesday. PG&E said in a press release Monday that rotating power outages were likely to occur Monday afternoon and evening, and San Mateo County sent out an alert Monday afternoon saying that rolling blackouts were “probable” locally. Ultimately, the outages did not come to pass as PG&E said that the state’s energy supply was expected to meet demand Monday night.
Utilities across California are similarly bracing for power outages and planning conservation measures. Newsom said at his news conference Monday that residents can expect power outages through Wednesday evening.
The heat wave has placed an enormous amount of stress on California’s energy supplies, Newsom said, causing statewide power outages this past weekend that are expected to continue. (On Friday, around 4,000 Palo Alto residents lost power in a City Utilities’ intentional outage.)
Newsom said he held an all-hands meeting Sunday with officials from the CAISO, the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Energy Commission and the state Office of Emergency Services in anticipation of further power outages this week.
In an effort to meet energy demands in the near future, Newsom signed an emergency proclamation that calls for several shifts in energy consumption practices, particularly by large consumers:
· Large energy users, such as factories and businesses, shift to backup power during peak hours between 3-10 p.m.
· Utility companies such as PG&E use stored power as outlined in Public Safety Power Shutoff protocols.
· Large ships to reduce consumption from the grid while at port.
Newsom also urged residents to conserve energy by cooling homes and offices overnight and in the early morning hours, avoiding using major appliances during peak hours and by turning off unnecessary lights.
“Even with all that, we are likely to fall short, and we should see some episodic issues as it relates to supplying the coverage you deserve and you demand,” Newsom said.
The governor said the state was not prepared for the outages that ensued this past weekend. His office has sent a letter to the California Independent System Operator, California Public Utilities Commission and the California Energy Commission, asking them to conduct investigations on why the energy agencies could not predict and mitigate the power interruptions.
“We failed to predict and plan these shortages, and that’s simply unacceptable,” Newsom said.
Palo Alto Weekly staff writers Gennady Sheyner and Lloyd Lee contributed to this report.
Palo Alto Weekly staff writers Gennady Sheyner and Lloyd Lee contributed to this report.
Palo Alto Weekly staff writers Gennady Sheyner and Lloyd Lee contributed to this report.
Very disappointing actions from PG&E and the state. Not explained is why 1000MW of power is suddenly “off-line”. CA needs to build small modular reactors (SMR) as well as encourage homeowners to use solar and battery backup.
Dan,
What are the small modular reactors going to use for fuel. Your really not considering forcing communities to have nuclear rectors located in them?
I feel you are on the right track though, why not have water wheels on the aqueducts that generate electricity? Why don’t we have more wind turbines up either? Why aren’t solar panels being installed on all structures. Why are we not capturing waves from the ocean? Why aren’t we using salt water to have fuel cells generate electricity?
With a true intelligent grid, we can have hundreds if not thousands of electrical generators providing our needs, and they can be geographically closer to their users. Oh yes, the electric grid is a private enterprise constantly waiting for federal or state money to life cycle the systems. We don’t have a true state or federally run energy infrastructure like we did in the 1950-1970s, we outsourced it to the private sectors. Weren’t they the experts in efficiency, reliability and safety?
Just asking.