Power crunch keeps California on edge

Bloomberg

California is bracing for another afternoon of blistering weather and potential blackouts as officials urge people to conserve power and forecasters warn of a brutal summer ahead.
Grid officials said they don’t expect rolling outages, either. Still, they’re urging consumers to curb power use, especially in the early evening when solar production fades and temperatures are expected to be above 41 degrees celsius degrees in Sacramento and elsewhere.
The most populous US state is already flirting with a repeat of historic rotating outages that briefly darkened parts of the region in August. The threat comes even before the solstice marks the official start of summer, signalling that the power crunch may intensify in coming months. It also underscores the magnitude of challenges for officials struggling to address growing heat, drought and
wildfire threats linked to
climate change. California and the Southwest will swelter until cooling across the region. Central Valley temperatures are forecast to retreat to the 90s.
“We are being foretold of the ghost of summer yet to come,” said Gary Ackerman, an independent energy consultant who founded the Western Power Trading Forum. “It’s not just whether there is enough water — there’s not — and whether there’s enough power or whether there are wildfires. If you have a combination of all those things you have an Armageddon on your hands.”
The entire state of California will most likely experience above-normal temperatures through July, August and September, according to Scott Handel, a forecaster at the US Climate Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.
The pressure on energy resources is likely to continue into this weekend, with the weather service warning of “dangerously hot conditions.”
Temperatures have topped 100 degrees from the southeastern desert to near Oregon, while sparing big coastal cities. Sacramento hit 110 degrees, a record for the date, while Death Valley hit 128 degrees, eclipsing the date’s all-time high.
California and the Southwest will swelter until cooling across the region by Monday. Central Valley temperatures are forecast to retreat to the 90s.
Much of California has been mired in extreme drought, and parched vegetation is poised to burn after a dry winter. The lack of seasonal rains also has reduced hydropower generation, adding to supply woes just as neighboring states like Arizona and Nevada also face rising power demand.
“Summer hit us a little earlier than expected,” Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Richard Glick told reporters Thursday. “We are seeing extreme conditions happen earlier. We are seeing them happen with more ferocity than we have, clearly related to climate change.”
Blackouts were averted Thursday mainly by conservation, with consumers asked to avoid unnecessary evening use. The California Independent System Operator renewed those requests to help alleviate the stress on the grid it oversees.