The prices fluctuate based on how much electricity must pass through the wires.
#California iso iso#
But both of those amounts fell below the peak year for electricity use, 2006, when demand reached 50,270 megawatts, followed by 2017 with 50,116, according to data from California ISO.Īs California ISO began taking its emergency actions on Saturday, electricity wholesale costs jumped on its energy market. Marcus, reached 44,947 megawatts, much lower than the 46,797 he saw on Friday. “I think they were being overly cautious.” “It’s just misleading to say that it was because it was a hot day,” Mr. The final stage, 3, the rolling blackouts, began at 6:30 p.m., when operating reserves dipped to 8.9 percent but still above the 3 percent level that the operator listed last year, Mr. California ISO listed that stage in its assessment at 6 percent. The second stage began at 6:25 p.m., when its operating reserves stood at 9.59 percent, Mr. It also cited a lack of access to electricity from out-of-state sources.
The California Independent System Operator, the nonprofit entity that controls the flow of electricity for 80 percent of California, said it acted after three power plants shut down and wind power production dropped. “This should not have triggered blackouts.”
“They set it up like this is a historic event,” said Bill Powers, a San Diego engineer who provides expert testimony on utility matters before the state’s regulators. The grid’s capacity may be tested in coming days as temperatures are forecast to reach into the triple digits again in some places. They said that the utilities had plenty of power available and that the blackouts weren’t necessary. As temperatures began to rise in California on Friday and again on Saturday, the manager of much of the state’s electric grid called on utilities to cut power to hundreds of thousands of customers.īut the rolling blackouts on those days left some of the state’s energy experts bewildered.