Heat Strains The Power Grid In California

[Purveyor]

As temperatures rocketed upward for a second straight day in the Southwest on Sunday and with no break likely until Tuesday, power companies nervously eyed surges from a population clamoring to stay cool with air conditioners.

"Some of these generators have been running at full speed for many hours now and they're not designed to do that and they break," said Steven Greenlee, spokesman for the California Independent System Operator, managing 80% of the state's power grid.

He said system officials were seriously considering early Sunday issuing a "flex alert" warning customers to conserve. Even heavier use was anticipated for Monday when the business week begins.

"We could be looking at setting a season peak through this heat wave. It would be a very early one at that. Usually our peaks are in August," Greenlee said Sunday. "Whenever we forecast or see that demand is outpacing supply, we make a voluntary call for conservation."

The worst of the heat wave is forecast to last at least until Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service, before easing slightly back to typical mid-summer temperatures by midweek.

MORE...

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/30/heat-wave-southwestern-united-states/2476675/

[SamKnause]

1. Outdated grid

USA, USA, USA we're number #1.

[Cleita]

2. Got my Coleman lamps and battery operated radio ready.

Also, keeping my cell phone a full charge. I expect another power outage soon as people flip on the air conditioning and overload the grid.

[CokeMachine]

6. Same here.

It's going to be worse in a couple of hours when everyone returns home from the weekend to their hot houses.

[Liberal_in_LA]

8. good planning

[LWolf]

3. I lived through a lot of heat waves like that in CA.

Rolling blackouts. Ugh. The Mojave Desert is not a great place to be at that time.

It's hot enough up here north of CA that I'm sure power use will be high. Probably won't break the system here though, since so many of us don't have any power-hungry cooling system to crank.

[kestrel91316]

4. I am amazed to see that, in spite of today's upwardly-revised forecast of 111F, it only hit 101F and

has now dropped to 92F. At 2:30 PM, when it should be climbing. There are some heat clouds forming, which is giving us a tiny break, and the winds have started to shift to out of the south, so we may have dodged a bullet. The next 3 hours will tell.

And only 3 minutes later it has dropped to 89F.

[oldhippie]

5. That can't possibly be .....

I have been informed by the acolytes of the Church of the Renewables over in the E&E group that it cannot possibly happen. They assure me that there is more than enough capacity even without SONGS output. Not to worry.

[Le Taz Hot]

7. Current temperature: 108

Just got back from working in that stuff a few minutes ago. Monday-Wednesday forecast: 111. Followed by a brief cooldown of 109. Ughh!

[vanlassie]

9. La Taz, I just saw some crows panting.

[hunter]

10. Saw the old oil-converted-to-gas-plants lit up today.

That's how I can tell.

Some of the newer peaking plants are more efficient than those dinosaurs.