While California has added electrical capacity since last August’s blackouts, state legislators were warned Tuesday, May 18, that another round of record-breaking heat could leave the state vulnerable again this summer – particularly if extreme weather extends to most of the western U.S., as it did last year.
Changes to operations since those two days of outages have resulted in “guarded optimism” on the part of Elliot Mainzer, president of the Independent System Operator, which coordinates energy supplies distributed by utilities to 80% of the state.
But climate change is expected to drive increasingly extreme and frequent heat storms over broader geographical ranges. As a consequence, energy imported from other states is in shortest supply when California needs it most.
“The issue of imports and another West-wide heat event is the biggest risk and what we’re doing most to address,” Mainzer told state Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee at its electrical reliability oversight hearing Tuesday.
Recent changes by state regulators include increasing the amount of electrical reserves utilities must contract for ahead of time from 15% to 17.5%, expanding in-state supplies – particularly battery storage that allows solar power to be used after sunset – and extending the life of outdated natural-gas power generators in Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Redondo Beach and Oxnard. The old, ocean-cooled generators at all four power plants had been scheduled to shut down at the end of last year.
The state is also expanding its program to reduce demand, a key component last year in avoiding blackouts beyond the 3 1/2 hours that affected 800,000 homes and businesses over two days, Aug. 14 and 15. It was the state’s hottest August on record.
“Really, the big difference-maker was the effort consumers made to reduce demand,” Mainzer said.
Among changes made by the California Public Utilities Commission to amplify the difference consumers already make is a pilot program encouraging large industrial and commercial users to get off the grid and operate on diesel generators during times of potential crisis.
Critics right and left
Marybel Batjer, president of the Public Utilities Commission, told legislators the state is on track to eliminate fossil fuels from the electrical grid by 2045 and reach a clean-energy target of 60% by 2030. The shift to renewable energy comes as the increased use of electric cars and home appliances is expected to significantly push demand for electricity.
But there’s skepticism that enough is being done to achieve the state’s goals, with many environmentalists calling on the state to be more aggressive in developing power storage to carry the state through periods when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. Many would also like to see a bigger push to develop offshore wind farms and to make it easier for homeowners with solar panels to sell energy to the grid.
Meanwhile, Assemblyman Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, offered criticism from the consumer’s point of view at Tuesday’s hearing.
“Our reliability is decreasing while our cost to ratepayers is increasing,” said Patterson, the committee’s vice chairman. “What are our solutions? We’re telling people when they come home from work not to use their air conditioners, to do their laundry at an inconvenient time and to cook dinner ahead of time. That is not a solution.”
The Democratic chairman of the committee and the head of the California Energy Commission defended the state’s approach.
“We’re in a transition away from fossil fuels,” said Chairman Chris Holden of Pasadena. “This is going to get us to a much better place. It’s not easy, but good things don’t always happen easily.”
David Hochschild, chairman of the energy commission, agreed.
“The moment we’re in requires us to address what got us here and reduce the use of fossil fuels,” Hochschild said. “We’ve got to get going.”