Scorching heat, raging wildfires and prolonged drought are putting California residents at greater risk of power outages, officials said Friday, as extreme weather from climate change puts additional strain on the state’s already taxed energy grid.
Officials said in an online briefing they were preparing for a 2022 scenario in which California would run out of energy by about 1,700 megawatts. The shortage is likely to occur in the summer after the sun sets, depriving energy suppliers of solar energy.
According to the California Energy Commission, one megawatt is enough electrical power to power 1,000 average California homes. Under bad conditions, the state could lack the amount of energy needed to power more than a million households.
The situation could worsen if a heat wave causes residents to flock to air conditioning for comfort, increasing energy demand.
“If all of those things happened there, there’s a real potential for outages, and we need to be prepared for that,” said Mark Rothleder, senior vice president of the California Independent System Operator, which helps maintain the state’s electrical grid. hold.
Extreme weather conditions and fire damage to the grid could lead to a shortage of another 5,000 megawatts.
Officials also warned of higher utility bills for Californians as providers cover the rising cost of natural gas, increased transmission costs and reduce the risk of wildfires.
According to the presentation, electricity bills for the average customer of Pacific Gas & Electric, California’s largest utility, will rise 9 percent to $211 by 2025. That’s on top of a 12 percent increase in the average bill from 2019 to this year.
California officials are taking action to mitigate the worst effects of climate change on the energy grid. In Friday’s briefing, delivered by Governor Gavin Newsom’s office, officials said the state had stepped up energy conservation efforts, ramped up energy purchasing and revised its forecasts to account for the changing climate.
The state is also increasing its investments in renewable energy, which helps meet demand without adding to conditions that strain California’s energy grid.
“Over the past few summers, we’ve had to resort to emergency measures,” said Alice Reynolds, chair of California’s Public Utilities Commission. “But at the same time, the net is getting cleaner.”
