Newsom Offers Cash For Power Conservation To Avoid Blackouts

Los Angeles CA

01 August, 2021

7:37 PM

Description

SACRAMENTO, CA — As temperatures soar yet again this summer, the looming threat of rolling outages prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday to sign an emergency proclamation that will offer cash to incentivize large energy consumers to conserve when the power grid becomes compromised. Energy customers such as big factories and casinos will be offered state funding in exchange for conservation during critical heat waves and when transmission lines are damaged by wildfires. The Golden State could face a shortage of 3,500 megawatts on days when scorching heat drives up demand for energy usage, according to the proclamation. That's in part, due to the state's intensifying drought, which has reduced water levels in reservoirs and diminished output from the hydroelectric dams. The proclamation comes as state officials seek to avoid rolling blackouts, which plagued the state last summer. In late August of last year, residents endured outages for two consecutive nights as dozens of wildfires and punishing heat ripped through the state. It was the state's first round of rolling blackouts due to limited supply since 2001, Politico reported. The state came close to last year's blackout disaster again in early July when a volatile combination of extreme weather and "explosive" wildfires threatened the state's power grid for several days. The Bootleg Fire, burning in southern Oregon, destroyed several transmission lines used to power California during a weekend of high temperatures. The situation prompted state regulators to issue a Flex Alert, which calls on residents to voluntarily conserve energy from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. to avoid blackouts. Several such alerts were issued in mid-June, August and September of last year, prompting consumers to significantly reduce energy use, which greatly limited rotating power outages. But Newsom's Friday proclamation aims to do more to save residents from outages, which can be dangerous during extreme heat waves. The state will offer $2 per kilowatt-hour to participating energy customers to encourage them to conserve, according to Newsom's order. "I signed an emergency proclamation that very specifically, very demonstrably and directly shifts energy consumption in this state," Newsom said on Friday. "We're focused primarily on large energy users." At least a dozen wildfires were burning across the state on Sunday as weather officials in Southern California warned of more critical fire weather and dry heat throughout the rest of the week. "Temperatures will be increasing, peaking Tues/Wed this coming week," National Weather Service officials tweeted. "Widespread 100's are expected for interior areas and the San Gabriel Valley by Tues, with cooler temps near the coast. This can be hazardous for vulnerable populations so prepare [accordingly]." Historic drought and recent heat waves tied to climate change have made wildfires more difficult to quell on the West Coast. Rising temperatures have made the American West much warmer and drier in the past 30 years and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive, scientists have said. This week across the nation, there were at least 83 large, active fires and complexes of multiple fires that have burned nearly 2,720 square miles, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. "Fire weather and the conditions of the fuels across the country continue to challenge wildland fire managers," an agency statement said. The three largest and most concerning fires as of Saturday were the Dixie Fire in Oroville (244,888 acres), Beckworth Complex in the Plumas National Forest (105,670 acres) and the Tamarack Fire, burning in Alpine County (68,696 acres) and the Dixie Fire in Oroville (30,074). READ MORE: CA Wildfires Latest: See A Map Of All Fires Burning The Associated Press contributed to this report.