California’s power grid operator on Wednesday asked electric companies to restrict maintenance work on their generating facilities and transmission lines to help maintain reliability as a heat wave bakes the northern part of the state.
The California Independent System Operator (ISO), which oversees California’s bulk electric power system, said on its website that generation resources “may be inadequate” to meet demand during the daylight hours on Wednesday.
The ISO forecast that peak demand would reach 45,931 megawatts on Wednesday and 45,428 MW on Thursday. Although high, that would fall short of the 2015 peak of 47,358 MW in September and the grid’s all-time record of 50,270 MW set in July 2006.
Restricting maintenance is the first of many steps a power grid operator can take to help maintain reliability during times of high demand or other stresses.
The ISO, however, urged customers to watch for flex alerts, which inform consumers of any potential power reliability problems and when to conserve energy.
AccuWeather forecast that temperatures in San Jose, the third biggest city in California, would reach 93 degrees Fahrenheit (34 Celsius) on Wednesday and 89 on Thursday after hitting 94 on Tuesday.
High temperatures in Los Angeles, meanwhile, were expected to remain at near-normal levels in the mid-80s for the rest of the week.
State agencies in April warned that millions of electric customers in Southern California could suffer power outages of up to 14 days this summer due to the limited availability of Southern California Gas’ Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility after it shut due to a closure massive methane leak.
SoCalGas, a unit of Sempra Energy, said it had enough gas to meet demand this week. The company said on its website it expects to deliver about 3.1 billion cubic feet of the fuel on Wednesday and 3.0 bcf on Thursday, with about 2.7 bcf coming from pipelines and 0.3 bcf from storage facilities.
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Credit: Reuters