Boosted battery fleet on California's energy grid withstands summer heat so far
SACRAMENTO – The month of July has been the hottest one on record for the city of Sacramento, but California's power grid has been holding up just fine thanks to bolstering up its battery supply.
CEO and President of California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) Elliot Mainzer said even though it has been scorching hot in Sacramento, it has not been hot everywhere across the state all at once, which may have been helping the energy grid's performance.
Cal-ISO brought on 11,600 megawatts of new clean resources since the system seemed to waver in 2022.
In 2022, Cal-ISO issued 11 flex alerts. It has not issued any flex alerts since then.
"Our battery fleet is now the largest of anywhere in the world outside of China," Mainzer said.
The way the lithium-ion batteries work is by charging during the day when there is plenty of solar energy and then putting the energy back into the system during the afternoon and night when the solar slows.
"On July 10, just after 5 p.m., the Broader Western Interconnection in which Cal-ISO is a part of, set a new all-time peak demand record of 167,988 megawatts," said Mainzer. "That surpassed the previous record set on September 6, 2022, of 167,530 megawatts."
He said the energy grid even had some energy surplus.
Every Sacramentan has been feeling the heat in some way during the month of July.
"We're seeing a lot of rushes in the morning, but around the end by like one, it is dead," said Stephanie Reiss, who works at KC Kombucha. "No one comes out in the heat."
Reiss has been working out at her business's booth twice a week at the Sacramento Farmer's Markets. She said she has been surviving her shifts with a water-spraying fan her boss gave her.
"After the market, I am like dead, just exhausted," Reiss said. "I need to be inside in the AC not talking to anyone."
The sun has turned dangerous for some Sacramentans.
"I definitely had heat exhaustion a couple weeks ago when we went to the air show," said Yesenia Chavez-Alvan, who lives in Sacramento.
There are more triple-digit temperatures in the forecast, but Mainzer is confident the battery fleet they have is ready.
"There's still plenty of summer left but we always maintain our diligence and focus but feel well prepared," Mainzer said.