Continued Heat Puts Pressure on California's Energy Grid
The non-profit that manages the state's energy grid said Sunday that conservation was needed to avoid straining the system.
Southern Californians seek relief from the heat on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2012 at Surfrider Beach in Malibu.
Despite hopes that the region’s high heat would abate by the weekend, temperatures Sunday started climbing early, hitting 80 degrees in Woodland Hills by 8:00 a.m.
The hot day followed a night that never really cooled down – just the kind of situation that can cause problems for the state’s power grid and put strains on the aging infrastructure that delivers electricity to millions of Southern California homes.
Temperatures were expected to climb as high as 106 in the high desert on Sunday and 100 in the heat-prone western end of the San Fernando Valley.
San Bernardino was forecast to hit 103 degrees. Parts of Riverside County, where an excessive heat warning was issued for the day, were expected to hit 118 degrees, the National Weather Service said.
The beaches were expected to be a good 20 degrees cooler than the hottest parts of the valleys, but even Malibu was forecast to hit 84 degrees.
The continued heat will lead to high demand for energy as people try to keep homes and businesses cool, the non-profit company that manages the state’s energy supply said Sunday.
The California Independent System Operator (Cal ISO) predicted that Californians would use 41,309 megawatts of power during the day. There’s enough energy in the system to meet that demand, the company said, as long as residents conserve.
Conservation on Sunday, while not mandatory, is needed to keep electricity flowing in the state, the system operator said on its website.
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