SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 18 (BUS): California’s power grid operator urged the state’s 40 million residents to reduce electricity use in homes and businesses as a wave of intense heat settled across much of the state, stretching power supplies to breaking point. .
Temperatures soared above 100 F (38 C) in many inland valleys, reaching 107 F (42 C) in parts of Northern California’s Shasta and Tehama counties and 108 F (42 C) in Southern California’s Imperial County on the Mexican border .
Big Bar, an unincorporated area in the northwest corner of the state, reached 110 F (43 C), Reuters reports.
Extreme conditions have been the latest sign of the impact of climate change in the western United States, where wildfires and severe drought have emerged as a growing threat. Scientists say that as the bouts of overheating become more frequent, the stress on electricity and water utilities will become more severe.
To prevent blackouts, the California Independent System Operator (ISO) has asked people and businesses to turn off lights and appliances and preset thermostats to 78 F (26 C). Reducing usage was particularly critical from 4pm to 9pm local time (2300 to 0400 GMT), when demand peaks and solar generation begins to ebb.
California ISO also announced a limitation of maintenance operations through Thursday, warning ISO participants to avoid putting network assets offline for routine maintenance to ensure all generators and transmission lines are available.
The network operator has made similar requests for energy use during the summer and fall over the past two years, when the area experienced several record-breaking bouts of hot weather. Power systems withstood heat waves in 2021, but a two-day power outage in August 2020 left nearly 400,000 homes without power.
On Wednesday, projected California ISO power demand will peak at 44,919 megawatts (MW), the highest level since September 2020 when usage reached 47,236 megawatts. One megawatt can supply about 1,000 American homes on a typical day, but only about half that on a hot summer’s day.
As a result, daytime energy prices in Southern California and in Washington state could rise to their highest levels since September 2021.
Wednesday’s temperatures increased the risk of wildfires. The Wishon Fire, a 350-acre (140 ha) fire in the Sequoia National Forest, was 45% contained.
On Tuesday, the US government warned that more significant cuts in water use are needed to protect dwindling supplies in reservoirs that are essential to the well-being of seven western states.
Two Colorado River reservoirs — Lake Mead and Lake Powell — have fallen to just over a quarter of their capacity this summer. If they fall too low, the authorities say, the lakes will not be able to generate hydroelectric power for millions of customers in the West.