প্রকাশ: 05/09/2022
California's chance of power outages will grow in the coming
days, as the state prepares to enter the most brutal stretch yet of an ongoing
heat wave, officials said Sunday.
Energy demand is expected to outpace supply starting Monday
evening, and predictions for Tuesday show the state rivaling its all-time high
for electricity demand, said Elliot Mainzer, president and chief executive
officer of the California Independent System Operator.
“This is about to get significantly more intense,” Mainzer
told reporters.
The system operator is in charge of managing and maintaining
reliability on the electric grid, a challenging job during hot weather when
energy demand soars as people crank up their air conditioners.
Grid managers have several options available before power
outages, like tapping backup generators, buying more power from other states
and using so-called demand response programs, where people are paid to use less
energy. But keeping the lights on will also require Californians to continue
conserving as they have been, even as temperatures rise.
Most of California’s 39 million people are facing extremely
hot weather. Temperatures in the Central Valley are expected to be as high as
115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsius) for several days. In Los Angeles,
meanwhile, temperatures topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius),
unusually warm temperatures for September.
Energy officials and power companies have been urging people
since Wednesday to use less power from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. by keeping air
conditioners at 78 degrees Fahrenheit (25.5 degrees Celsius) or higher and
avoiding using major appliances like ovens and dishwashers. Those so-called
flex alerts have allowed the grid operator to keep the lights on so far.
On Saturday night, the state used about 44,000 megawatts of
electricity, Mainzer said. By Tuesday, that's supposed to ramp up to more than
50,000 megawatts, nearing record levels of energy use set in 2006. But the
state would rather curb demand to avoid that number than test the power grid's
capability to respond.
“Our goal is to make sure that we do not reach that
number," Mainzer said.
During the day, California's energy grid runs on a mix of
mostly solar and natural gas, as well as some imports of power from other
states. But solar power begins to fall off during the late afternoon and into
the evening, which is the hottest time of day in some parts of the state.
Meanwhile, some of the aging natural gas plants that
California relies on for backup power aren't as reliable in hot weather. As of
Sunday afternoon, three of the state's coastal power plants were experiencing
partial outages, though they make up just a small fraction of the state's
supply, officials said.
At the same time, some hydropower resources are limited due
to drought. Dry conditions and heat are hitting California as the state heads
into what traditionally is the worst of the fire season, with large fires
already burning and turning deadly. Scientists say climate change has made the
West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make
weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.
Several hundred thousand Californians lost power in rolling
blackouts in August 2020 amid hot weather. The state avoided a similar scenario
last summer. Newsom on Friday signed legislation potentially allowing the
state's last remaining nuclear plant to stay open beyond its planned 2025
closure in order to ensure more power for the energy grid.
On Sunday evening, nuclear power accounted for about 5% of
California's energy supply.
– AP/UNB
প্রধান সম্পাদকঃ সৈয়দ বোরহান কবীর
ক্রিয়েটিভ মিডিয়া লিমিটেডের অঙ্গ প্রতিষ্ঠান
বার্তা এবং বাণিজ্যিক কার্যালয়ঃ ২/৩ , ব্লক - ডি , লালমাটিয়া , ঢাকা -১২০৭
নিবন্ধিত ঠিকানাঃ বাড়ি# ৪৩ (লেভেল-৫) , রোড#১৬ নতুন (পুরাতন ২৭) , ধানমন্ডি , ঢাকা- ১২০৯
ফোনঃ +৮৮-০২৯১২৩৬৭৭