Amid Heat Wave, Governor Frees Up Additional Energy

Sonora Triple Digit Heat

Sacramento, CA — Governor Gavin Newsom today signed an emergency proclamation to free up additional energy capacity amid extreme triple-digit temperatures across California.

Newsom also noted that the Bootleg Fire in Southern-Central Oregon is currently threatening a regional transmission system and impacting California’s power supply. The proclamation permits power plants to generate more power by suspending certain permitting requirements. It allows for the use of backup power generation and frees up additional energy capacity to help alleviate the heat-induced demands on the state’s energy grid.

Facilities are required to report any violations of suspended permitting requirements to relevant local and state regulatory bodies. The proclamation also contains provisions related to the use of auxiliary ship engines.

The state has taken certain steps to build the state’s climate resilience, including requiring utilities to procure additional energy resources to meet forecasted demand during extreme weather, bringing on additional storage and launching the revamped “Flex Your Power” campaign to help California conserve energy.

As reported earlier, a Flex Alert is in place this evening from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Click here to view the entire proclamation.