California Avoids Rotating Outages, Flex Alert Continues
Sonora, CA– California was told by PG&E yesterday to prepare for the likelihood of rotating outages. This was not needed but according to the experts, it was a narrow miss. The stage 3 energy alert ended Tuesday night at 8 pm, the highest alert issued before blackouts become a reality. Customer conservation was cited as a big part of why the outages were avoided. The power grid peaked at 52,061 megawatts which set an all-time record. A text alert that was sent to customers at 5:45 pm is seen as a huge step in why outages were avoided. As soon as the text went out a notable decrease in energy usage was seen immediately. Due to the success of the text alert, similar texts might be sent out today and through the remainder of the heat wave when needed.
Locally, the Columbia area had a power outage that impacted over 400 customers but this is being blamed on heat-related equipment failures and not any kind of rolling blackout. An issue that also turned off the lights for other customers throughout the state.
A flex alert has again been extended into Wednesday for the eighth consecutive day. Californians are once again asked to conserve electricity during the peak hours of 4-9 pm.
