California extends power alert, prepares for blackouts

California prepares to implement power outages while facing a system collapse. The grid operator declared a Level 2 grid emergency Monday night, which is one step before forced outages begin.

State officials asked consumers to avoid using electric appliances and not to charge their electric vehicles. This comes just a few days after California passed regulations to ban gasoline-powered vehicles.

The level 2 alert was produced as a result of millions of homes and businesses turning on air conditioning to cope with high temperatures. Electricity use in the state these days reached its highest level since 2017. Because of this, the California Independent System Operator (ISO) issued the first Flex Alert asking residents to reduce power consumption from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. This Monday an extra hour was added to the alert.

Record demand and energy shortages

California officials said the state could break the all-time record for energy demand this Tuesday as students return to classrooms and businesses reopen after the long Labor Day holiday weekend.

Therefore, the risk of blackouts increases as a consequence of the state's commitment to renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, and the abandonment of others such as natural gas and nuclear energy. Governor Gavin Newsom was forced to issue an emergency declaration to release additional power supplies.

In recent years, California has steadily shut down natural gas-fired power plants, forcing the state to rely on solar farms which go dark late in the day - when electricity demand is highest - and which proved to be insufficient at meeting consumers' needs. At the same time, California is suffering from a drought that is limiting hydroelectric power production.

Nevertheless, both Newsom and many local governments continue their policies of limiting fossil fuels. Californians will now suffer outages resulting in part from these policies.