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> California hasn’t issued an emergency plea for the public to conserve energy, known as a Flex Alert, since 2022. Feels like that statement deserves to be con
by mh- 1y ago
> California hasn’t issued an emergency plea for the public to conserve energy, known as a Flex Alert, since 2022.
Feels like that statement deserves to be contextualized with weather data. There were a few summers leading up to that where all of the major metro areas shared concurrent record high heat days, and sometimes coincided with poor air quality from wildfires (meaning more people closed their windows and ran AC even if they wouldn't have otherwise.)
> It was only five years ago that a record-shattering heat wave pushed the grid to its limit and plunged much of the state into darkness.
They mention it here, but then don't talk about whether similar circumstances have been faced since. Don't get me wrong, this is encouraging, but the article invited this kind of reaction by putting "leaving rolling blackouts behind" in the title.
Funny enough, if you look at the article's original title via the URL slug, it was much more measured:
california-made-it-through-another-summer-without-a-flex-alert
- vondur 1y agoYeah, I think you are correct, 2022 was a hot summer with a September heat wave which broke some records for power demand. Also keep in mind that there was a big increase in hydropower generation in 2023 and 2024 due to the really wet/snowy winter seasons.
- khuey 1y ago> There were a few summers leading up to that where all of the major metro areas shared concurrent record high heat days, and sometimes coincided with poor air quality from wildfires (meaning more people closed their windows and ran AC even if they wouldn't have otherwise.) This is underselling it, if anything. The multi-day heatwave around Labor Day 2022 extended across most of the western US, not just California. The electricity demand during that event set what was at the time the all time record for the entire Western Interconnection (since surpassed in 2024) and set what is still today the all time record for CAISO.
- mh- 1y agoI didn't want to overstate it given I wasn't bringing any data to the conversation, but your account matches my recollection as well.
- khuey 1y agohttps://www.publicadvocates.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cal-advocates-website/files/press-room/reports-and-analyses/220922-caladvocates-sept-22-heat-wave-analysis---full.pdf https://www.publicadvocates.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cal-advocate... has some data.
- rconti 1y agoYep. The previous high was in 2006(!). Overall, statewide energy consumption seems to be flat or declining. In 2020, there were extremely high heat days in August, with wildfire smoke covering the state. Thankfully I was out of town, but my wife was suffering, unable to cool the house OR open a window. In 2021 or 2022 I finally broke down and bought a window-mounted AC unit for my office, as I work from home. In 2024 and 2025 I didn't even bother installing it, the summers have been so mild. https://www.caiso.com/documents/californiaisopeakloadhistory.pdf https://www.caiso.com/documents/californiaisopeakloadhistory...
- themafia 1y agoEquipment dies and needs to be replaced. When that happens a more energy efficient unit is usually available and is often the best option for replacement. That's the whole other side to this curve which isn't seen very clearly in grid analysis.
- yurishimo 1y agoThis definitely plays a huge factor. Even people who get airco for the first time are already beginning with a different mindset. They also tend to run the units very conservatively because they aren’t used to living in an air conditioned space and often find it uncomfortable after a certain point. I moved to Western Europe from a US state where airco is mandatory. I purchased a split unit here and on the worst summer weeks, it still only cost me €10 to run the unit on its coldest setting for a week (almost continuously since I was using it with a fan to blow cooler air around the rest of the house). Back in the US, I had summer electricity bills of hundreds of dollars every year. Sure, the weather is a bit more mild here, but there have been heat waves, and I’m definitely an outlier when it comes to usage. But that just goes to show how efficient these new units are!
- mh- 1y agoWhat's the kWh price in these two places? That's a huge variable.
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- chaostheory 1y agoThere’s also the more forgiving fire season in some areas. This is relevant since a lot of the power transmission goes through forests and nature preserves.
- blitzar 1y agoWith current technology getting through long days of sunshine linked demand is not an achievement worthy of celebration.
- thakoppno 1y ago> the URL slug when will it replace the headline in editorial importance?
- oezi 1y agoUsually slug, headline and teaser are all considered important parts to optimize. My wife works for a big online news company and while news journalists write headline and teaser, they have editors in chief who edit those again and a separate SEO team who will assign slugs.
- k1t 1y agoI feel like the additional unstated context is that nothing has changed. Power outages are still a common threat, it's just that now they are caused by the power companies under the guise of wildfire prevention. I don't care if my power goes out because of lack of supply or because you didn't maintain the transmission lines properly - the result is the same - I'm angry.
- Braxton1980 1y agoShouldn't you control your emotions depending on the reason?
- k1t 1y agoSure, there might be cases beyond their control - but in general if I pay them to provide a service and they fail to deliver, I think my annoyance is justified. If they are busy counting their profits instead of focusing on providing a safe, reliable service, then I think it's reasonable to be angry with them.
- testdelacc1 1y agoWhile usage of aircon during heatwaves stressing the grid is a valid concern, I think massive increase in solar could offset it. Solar will also generate maximum energy during sunny days with minimal cloud cover, meaning there shouldn’t be a shortage of energy if there’s enough solar. Since 2022 California has energy from solar by roughly 50%, while the population has decreased. Solar is now the biggest source of energy in California, and continues to grow. That means that future heatwaves should be handled well enough.
- boringg 1y agoIt doesn't solve the problem- its the end of the day when solar has ramped down that the crises happens. Its the duck curve. Where its still hot and air conditioning is still running hard. Solar depresses the energy demand during the middle of the day. Energy storage smooths out the load profile.
- coredog64 1y agoKnowing about the duck curve and taking advantage of the essentially zero marginal cost of solar, can't most folks just crank down their AC temps at 11 or noon such that there's no end-of-day demand ramp? I know folks in Phoenix who are on a time-of-day plan and they max out the AC overnight and then barely use it during the day (same goal, just they don't have solar)
- mh- 1y agoThis is indeed what I do when it's going to be very hot (105+) out. I run the AC down to 64 overnight, and it's usually comfortable until well into the afternoon before it starts running at 73-74.
- motorest 1y ago> It doesn't solve the problem- its the end of the day when solar has ramped down that the crises happens. Its the duck curve. Where its still hot and air conditioning is still running hard. Isn't that scenario a problem only when the output from solar is insufficient to meet the aggregate demand? From a naive point of view, it looks like this issue would be easily mitigated if supply from solar was increased enough to allow energy to be stored during peak hours so that it could be introduced back in the grid during sunset. Why is this scenario being ignored in a thread on how California is investing in battery energy storage?
- kangs 1y agohey you aren't supposed to notice :)
- Xorakios 1y agoOr 3 days ago in Palm Springs, California, and my power was shut off for 2 hours even though it was only 92 degrees outside.