Rolling Power Outages Impact Southern California Throughout The Weekend
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- For the first time since 2001, California ordered rolling power outages on Friday night due to high temperatures increasing electricity demand across the state, but officials warned there could be additional blackouts throughout this weekend.
"One of the biggest heat waves we've seen this decade," said UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain. "We're going to see a lot of nights, especially across the Inland areas, where temperatures never drop to comfortable levels. That adds additional stress on the human body, additional stress on electrical grids and it makes it harder to cope with the heat when it doesn't cool down at night."
The California Independent System Operator (ISO) declared a stage three electrical emergency on Friday, ordering utilities to take measures to lighten the power load. By 10 p.m., the power outages were lifted.
On Saturday, a Stage 3 Electrical Emergency was called at 6:28 p.m., which means that rolling outages were imminent or in progress, the California ISO said.
From Woodlands Hills to Santa Monica, SoCal Edison said about 70,000 customers were affected by the power outage, but a few minutes later, the Stage 3 emergency was called off as more resources were available to support facilities statewide.
"The load was ordered back online 20 minutes later at 6:48 p.m., as wind resources increased,'' the ISO explained. "Extreme heat throughout the West has increased electricity usage, causing a strain on the power grid. All available resources are needed to meet the growing demand."
Currently, ISO has the state listed at a Stage 2 Electrical Emergency, which according to officials means that "the ISO has taken all mitigating actions and is no longer able to provide its expected energy requirements. Requires ISO intervention in the market, such as ordering power plants online."
A Stage 1 Electrical Emergency signals a "strong need for conservation,'' the ISO said.
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