California pleads for more power as summer blackout threat grows, hydro supplies fade
< < Go Back
Acknowledging the increasing threat of rolling blackouts this summer, managers of California’s electricity grid issued a rare call for additional power supplies Thursday.
The California Independent System Operator, which runs the state’s grid, issued the appeal to generators, traders and others. The appeal, known as a “capacity procurement mechanism,” came two weeks after the state had a fairly close call but was able to survive a 110-degree heat wave without resorting to blackouts.
Barely two months ago, grid managers were reasonably confident they could avoid blackouts this summer
But since then, two things happened: the mid-June heat wave and a significant worsening of the drought, which is cutting heavily into hydro power supplies. Water levels are so low at Lake Oroville that the state-owned reservoir’s power plant is expected to go silent for the first time ever in August.
More From Sacramento Bee: