California’s power grid is struggling to cope with extreme heat
by Justine Calma from The Verge - All Posts on (#6358Z)
The Ski Inn bar and restaurant amid a heatwave on the shore of the Salton Sea on August 31st, 2022, in Bombay Beach, California. | Photo by Ariana Drehsler / Getty Images A long, brutal heatwave is expected to grip California at least through the holiday weekend, stressing the power grid. Officials are begging residents to conserve electricity in an effort to prevent outages.
The state is now in its second day of a Flex Alert" issued by the state's power grid operator, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO). Under the Flex Alert, Californians are urged to voluntarily curb their electricity use between 4PM and 9PM. That's the time of day when the grid is under the most pressure because it's when power demand typically rises as people come home from work, and there's less solar energy available as the sun sets.
Officials are begging residents to conserve electricity
Cutting down on energy use...