Califonia suffers the continuous high temperature and heat wave around the world. Some parts of the city began to require residents to turn on less air conditioners to avoid taking rolling power outages. The capital of Mississippi was unable to have normal water supply for five consecutive days, and residents’ lives were almost stopped.
Blackout Caused by Transformer
On August 31, California even declared a state of emergency for the state’s power grid. Then issued a Level 1 Energy Emergency Alert to deal with surging electricity demand amid the heatwave.
According to the reports, on Wednesday, September 7, local time, the California State Grid Operator (ISO) issued a secondary energy emergency alert. They strongly urge residents to reduce their usage in hot weather. It is expected that the state’s power supply will continue to be tight today. Even face the risk of rolling blackouts.
The ISO said the emergency measures would be in effect between 4pm and 9pm local time. They asked residents and businesses to reduce electricity usage. We remind that, as the largest state in the United States, California is not only the most economically developed, but also the most populous state in the country.
Next stage
On September 6, local time, the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), a US power company, also make a claim. They said that at 15:50 local time, nearly 4,000 users in the West Sacramento area of California were powered off. It was initially determined that the power outage was caused by heatwave weather. The company said it was not sure when power would be restored.
According to reports, the inland and valley areas of California ushered in a heat wave in September. The temperatures exceed 43 degrees Celsius in many areas, and the California power grid is close to the limit of electricity consumption. California’s grid independent system operator (ISO) has warned that outages are likely if customers don’t reduce their electricity usage.
In addition, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) gives a report in its Short-Term Energy Outlook. They demostrate that U.S. electricity consumption will hit an all-time high this year due to increased economic activity and the impact of high summer temperatures. The EIA expects U.S. electricity demand to reach 4.029 trillion kilowatt-hours in 2022, up from 3.93 trillion kilowatt-hours last year.
Experts say it’s the challenge California’s power grid has faced since the summer of 2020. At that time, rolling blackouts swept parts of the state. The record temperatures caused by climate change took a toll on the global grid as well. Therefore, the government has to eased restrictions on gas-fired power generation.
“It’s clear that nature has overcome us,” California Governor Newsom said. “The reality is that we live in an era of extreme heat and extreme drought.”