CityofGoleta
Source: City of Goleta
The California Independent System Operator (ISO) has issued a statewide Flex Alert, a call for voluntary electricity conservation, beginning Saturday and extending through Monday, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Labor Day weekend temperatures are forecast 10-20 degrees above normal for California, and the power grid operator is predicting an increase in electricity demand, primarily from air conditioning use. Overnight temperatures statewide are projected to be at least 10 degrees higher than normal, which doesn’t allow infrastructure to cool down.
High heat is also predicted throughout the West for the weekend, which can limit the ISO’s ability to import energy to serve demand.
Consumers can actively help by shifting energy use to morning and nighttime hours. Conservation can lower demand and avoid further actions, including outages, and lessen the duration of possible power interruptions. For example, consumer conservation efforts during a heat wave on Aug. 17 and 18 were key to preventing expected power outages.
Consumers are urged to conserve electricity when the grid is most stressed in the afternoons and evenings, when temperatures remain high and solar production is falling due to the sun setting.
The ISO recognizes that reducing energy use during the hot time of the day is a hardship, especially for those working from home or for families with children schooling at home. However, if a large enough number of consumers conserve even in small ways, they can help grid operators avoid more serious system emergencies. Between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m., the ISO is urging consumers to:
· Set air conditioning thermostats to 78 degrees, if health permits.
· Defer use of major appliances.
· Turn off unnecessary lights.
· Unplug unused electrical devices.
· Close blinds and drapes.
· Use fans when possible
Limit time the refrigerator door is open.
Consumers can also take steps to prepare for the Flex Alert by doing the following before 3 p.m.:
- “Pre-cool” their homes, or lower air conditioning thermostats
- Charge electric vehicles
- Charge mobile devices and laptops
- Run dishwashers, washing machines and other major appliances
- Set pool pumps to run in the early morning or late at night
For information on Flex Alerts, to get more electricity conservation tips, and to sign up for conservation alerts, visit the ISO’s Flex Alert website. Visit the ISO’s News page for more information on the heat wave’s impacts on grid operations, and to learn more about alerts, warnings and emergency notices.
For updates on grid operations, follow us on Twitter at @California_ISO or @FlexAlert, or monitor system conditions in real time at ISO’s Today’s Outlook.
It’s a shame in this day and age we still have issues with something as basic as power distribution. There is absolutely no reason besides greed and fear that this is still happening. The ones that are suffering most are the elderly during the times they need their AC/oxygen etc to function most. Them putting a PR spin of “energy flex power” just sort of disgusts me. We shouldnt be getting used to it, but people are and you see a lot of people even defending it. Weird world.
Very interesting to see the real time sources of power on the SCE website as they vary throughout the day – renewables – mainly solar – drop off sharply before 5pm when natural gas has to soar to make up the difference. Look up the SCE website to get this allocation of power between various sources online on time. No wonder we have had these outages mainly around 5pm, when natural gas has to ramp up almost instantly. It tracks renewables, natural gas, nuclear, hydro, geo-therm, imported, battery, and other. Currently renewables are too variable for daily power needs, nuclear is 24 hour steady but very limited, zero coal, limited imports and battery, so like it or not fossil fuels are still critical for local energy needs as we speak. Preserving the oil and gas industry in this county for local consumption remains the right thing to do – or else pick one of the other resources and plan your chronic outages accordingly.
Instead of continuing to advocate for the equivalent of horse and buggy infrastructure by wasting money on fossil fuels, it would be much more forward-thinking to start investing more in non-carbon energy infrastructure, since that’s obviously the future, anyway. It would also be attainable much sooner than any ability to use the poor quality petroleum from our county.