4 ms·

How does this stack up with the other relatively recent news that Cali was asking people to unplug their EVs because the grid couldn't handle it? Was that just

How does this stack up with the other relatively recent news that Cali was asking people to unplug their EVs because the grid couldn't handle it? Was that just due to the fluctuating nature of renewables (cloudy, windless days)?

ilya_m 3y ago
What recent news are you referring to? Does it put your concerns to rest: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/california-electric-cars-charge/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/california-electric-cars-c...?
- ApolloFortyNine 3y ago
  I love how the answer is a defacto yes, and it still says mixed. They even say so in the first paragraph.
  - striking 3y ago
    > The above-displayed meme was inaccurate. California did not tell "everyone" not to charge their electric cars. In reality, residents were asked to charge their cars at a time other than when the energy supply was limited.
    - frumper 3y ago
      Many utilities have much better rates for charging off peak anyway.
- vineyardmike 3y ago
  (2021) > A voluntary alert advising Californians to conserve energy during a specific time frame was issued in mid-June 2021 to “help balance supply and demand” on the power grid during an extreme heatwave in the region. Unplugging electric vehicles during peak usage times was one recommended measure included in a list of power-saving strategies issued by the California System Operator.
  - auspiv 3y ago
    And Sept 2022 - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/us/california-heat-wave-flex-alert-ac-ev-charging.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/us/california-heat-wave-f... Couldn't find a 2023 news article though
    - vineyardmike 3y ago
      The original link was from 2021, and not to nit-pick but the 2022 link is not electric-car specific, it was just a "Reduce power usage (which includes cars)" advisory notice. Kinda weird actually that the NYT spun that into an electric-car issue. https://www.caiso.com/Documents/california-iso-extends-flex-alert-to-thursday-sept-1.pdf https://www.caiso.com/Documents/california-iso-extends-flex-...
vineyardmike 3y ago
That was a voluntary advisory in 2021. Hardly recent.
ghouse 3y ago
The electrical grid has many different resources that can be constrained. For example, the entire grid may not have adequate supply to meet demand, a transmission line may not have adequate capacity to deliver electricity from generation to load, or a substation may not have enough transformation capacity to delivery electricity from the transmission grid to the distribution grid. As a society (natural monopoly), we pay to meet peak demand. In fact, most of the cost of electricity (in the US, in most markets...) is not the marginal cost of generation, but the amortization of fixed costs. My reducing the peak demand, we reduce the need to build new infrastructure that is unnecessary for all but 8755 hours a year.

ilya_m 3y ago

What recent news are you referring to? Does it put your concerns to rest: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/california-electric-cars-charge/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/california-electric-cars-c...?

ApolloFortyNine 3y ago
I love how the answer is a defacto yes, and it still says mixed. They even say so in the first paragraph.
- striking 3y ago
  > The above-displayed meme was inaccurate. California did not tell "everyone" not to charge their electric cars. In reality, residents were asked to charge their cars at a time other than when the energy supply was limited.
  - frumper 3y ago
    Many utilities have much better rates for charging off peak anyway.
vineyardmike 3y ago
(2021) > A voluntary alert advising Californians to conserve energy during a specific time frame was issued in mid-June 2021 to “help balance supply and demand” on the power grid during an extreme heatwave in the region. Unplugging electric vehicles during peak usage times was one recommended measure included in a list of power-saving strategies issued by the California System Operator.
- auspiv 3y ago
  And Sept 2022 - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/us/california-heat-wave-flex-alert-ac-ev-charging.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/us/california-heat-wave-f... Couldn't find a 2023 news article though
  - vineyardmike 3y ago
    The original link was from 2021, and not to nit-pick but the 2022 link is not electric-car specific, it was just a "Reduce power usage (which includes cars)" advisory notice. Kinda weird actually that the NYT spun that into an electric-car issue. https://www.caiso.com/Documents/california-iso-extends-flex-alert-to-thursday-sept-1.pdf https://www.caiso.com/Documents/california-iso-extends-flex-...

vineyardmike 3y ago

That was a voluntary advisory in 2021. Hardly recent.

ghouse 3y ago

The electrical grid has many different resources that can be constrained. For example, the entire grid may not have adequate supply to meet demand, a transmission line may not have adequate capacity to deliver electricity from generation to load, or a substation may not have enough transformation capacity to delivery electricity from the transmission grid to the distribution grid. As a society (natural monopoly), we pay to meet peak demand. In fact, most of the cost of electricity (in the US, in most markets...) is not the marginal cost of generation, but the amortization of fixed costs. My reducing the peak demand, we reduce the need to build new infrastructure that is unnecessary for all but 8755 hours a year.