Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Walters: Blackouts Reveal Our Power Shortage
dan_walters
By Dan Walters, CalMatters Commentary
Published 4 years ago on
August 19, 2020

Share

The prolonged heat wave of 100-degree-plus temperatures that grips California has strained the state’s electric power grid to the breaking point, resulting in rolling blackouts for the first time in nearly two decades.

Dan Walters

Opinion

California’s Independent System Operator (ISO), which manages the distribution of power for the state’s investor-owned utilities, imposed temporary outages as demands from air conditioning systems in millions of heat-stressed homes approached supply capacity.

The blackouts clearly tell us that California has a power supply problem. It’s unacceptable that a state that with a world-class economy grounded in cutting edge technology has the unreliable electrical service of a third world country.

Moreover, if we lack sufficient generating capacity now, the gap between supply and demand will grow even wider as our population continues to grow and if, as we are constantly told, the climate becomes ever warmer.

Our power supply problem stems largely from political policies aimed at phasing out hydrocarbon energy, such as natural gas-powered generators, shutting down nuclear plants and relying more on “renewables” such as solar panels and windmills.

By decree, the latter are supplying ever-increasing amounts of power, but they are much less reliable than traditional generation. Therefore, when demand climbs to near-record levels ISO must turn to natural gas-fired plants to make up the difference, particularly if it cannot acquire more juice from out-of-state generators.

In Theory, Massive Battery Banks Could Be Constructed to Store Solar and Wind Power

ISO data reveal that when demand peaks, natural gas plants are supplying half or more of California’s power, but even so there are not enough electrons because we have discouraged construction of more gas-fired generation.

“The situation is one that could have been avoided,” Steve Berberich, ISO’s top executive, told the agency’s board on Monday during a review of weekend blackouts, adding that the supply situation “is broken and needs to be fixed.”

Berberich said the ISO has repeatedly warned the California Utilities Commission that an additional 4,700 megawatts of supply is needed but only a portion was authorized on a delayed basis, leaving a gap that couldn’t be closed when the heat wave hit.

In theory, massive battery banks could be constructed to store solar and wind power when it’s plentiful and supplant hydrocarbon generation altogether, but so far that’s just a theory.

Three years ago, ISO published a scenario that envisioned a massive shift from hydrocarbons to renewable electricity in homes, commercial businesses and in transportation by 2030, all but eliminating hydrocarbon energy.

For the Foreseeable Future, Therefore, We Will Need the Natural Gas Generators

Other than laws requiring utilities to increase their use of solar, wind and other renewable sources, however, little of the ISO’s vision, which mirrors other official projections, has become reality. The COVID-19 pandemic and the severe economic recession it spawned will probably retard the conversion to an all-electric society even more.

For the foreseeable future, therefore, we will need the natural gas generators that environmental activists love to hate, along with the equally vital infrastructure of gas wells and pipelines that they also want to cancel. In fact we need even more of them as demands increase.

Minutes after Berberich’s report, Gov. Gavin Newsom took to social media to say that the blackouts are “sobering to the reality” that “more insurance” in power supply is needed and pledged to provide it.

However, he must also answer why the Public Utilities Commission, composed of governor’s appointees, has failed to heed ISO’s warnings about inadequate supply.

Newsom is fond of the word “foundational” to describe things that must be done. There’s nothing more foundational than having the lights shine when you flick the switch or air conditioning to function when the mercury soars.

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

DON'T MISS

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

DON'T MISS

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

DON'T MISS

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

DON'T MISS

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

DON'T MISS

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

DON'T MISS

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Breaks NCAA Wins Record With 1,217th Victory

DON'T MISS

Fresno Doctors Will Pay $2.4 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations, DOJ Says

DON'T MISS

Warriors Guard De’Anthony Melton to Undergo Season-Ending Knee Surgery

UP NEXT

How Trump Can Earn a Place in History That He Did Not Expect

UP NEXT

Demography Drives Destiny and Right Now California Is Losing

UP NEXT

Defining Deviancy Down. And Down. And Down.

UP NEXT

How Three Trump Policy Decrees Could Affect California Farmers

UP NEXT

Donald Trump Is Already Starting to Fail

UP NEXT

I Can’t Wait for Matt Gaetz’s Confirmation Hearings

UP NEXT

Let the Games Begin: 2026 Campaign for CA Governor Looms

UP NEXT

Why Trump’s Deportations Will Drive Up Your Grocery Bill

UP NEXT

Dems Still Dominate California, but Their Voters Have Drifted to the Right

UP NEXT

If You Thought Trump Wasn’t Serious About Deportations, Look at His First Appointments

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

54 minutes ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

58 minutes ago

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

1 hour ago

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

2 hours ago

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Breaks NCAA Wins Record With 1,217th Victory

3 hours ago

Fresno Doctors Will Pay $2.4 Million to Settle Kickback Allegations, DOJ Says

3 hours ago

Warriors Guard De’Anthony Melton to Undergo Season-Ending Knee Surgery

3 hours ago

Massive Ground Beef Recall Affects Restaurants Nationwide, USDA Warns

3 hours ago

Chris Stapleton Wins 4 CMA Awards, but Morgan Wallen Is Entertainer of the Year

3 hours ago

These Fresno Schools Are Unsafe and in Bad Condition. And No One Is Complaining

3 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. edged closer to 7% this week, climbing to its highest level since July. The rate rose to ...

27 seconds ago

27 seconds ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

5 minutes ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

25 minutes ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

54 minutes ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

58 minutes ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

Fresno motorcycle cop enforces the 45 mph speed limit
1 hour ago

Fresno Council Lowers Speed Limits on Friant and Audubon

2 hours ago

How About an Honest Conversation About the Range of Light Monument Proposal?

3 hours ago

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Breaks NCAA Wins Record With 1,217th Victory

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend