Heatwave-hit California declares grid emergency as rolling blackouts loom
- A searing heat wave across California has seen temperatures reach 43 degrees Celsius
- On Monday, California’s power grid operator warned of the potential for rolling blackouts
California declared a power grid emergency on Monday as a blistering and sustained heatwave threatens to push the state’s electricity system to its limit.
With millions of homes and businesses cranking up air conditioners to cope with temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius), electricity use in the largest US state hit 48.9 gigawatts on Monday, the most since 2017. The state’s grid operator forecast an energy deficiency between 5pm and 9pm local time.
“California has been ridiculously hot and will be hot for a good part of the week,” Bob Oravec, a senior branch forecaster with the US Weather Prediction Centre, said.
The prospect of blackouts underscores how grids have become vulnerable in the face of extreme weather as they transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
California has aggressively closed natural-gas power plants in recent years, leaving the state increasingly dependent on solar farms that go dark late in the day as demand for electricity peaks. At the same time, the state is enduring a severe drought, sapping hydropower production.
Much of California is under an excessive heat warning for the next four days. Sacramento could reach 45 degrees on Monday and 46 degrees on Tuesday shattering records for those days, Oravec said. Downtown Los Angeles reached 39 degrees on Sunday, which was the first time the temperature broke 37 degrees this year.