(Cole Lauterbach) Ahot summer or surge in wildfires likely are to cause blackouts across California this summer, according to a panel of public and private officials involved with maintaining the state’s power grid.
Related Biden Begins with HUMILIATING Approval Rating as the WEAKEST President EVER! (Video)
by Cole Lauterbach, June 8th, 2021
The Sacramento Press Club last week hosted Robert Foster, former Mayor of Long Beach and former president of Southern California Edison; state Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, who also sits on the state’s wildfire prevention group; Elliot Mainzer, the president of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO); and Susan Kennedy, a former aide to Govs. Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The panel discussion centered around the state’s perennial issue of rolling brownouts and blackouts in time of high power need or outages caused by wildfires.
Attendees were resigned to the thought the grid will keep a steady flow of wattage this summer. Still, California residents will see power interruptions in the event of a prolonged stretch of heat or another interruption caused by power lines being damaged by fires.
“If we get into another west-wide heating event like we saw last year, our numbers tell us the grid will be stressed again,” Mainzer said. “We will be reaching out actively to consumers to conserve energy.”
Foster praised a recent proposal to prioritize local power delivery in times of high need over “wheel-through” wattage, or power that’s passing through on its way to other states. Utilities in neighboring states have criticized the move, saying it exports California’s power struggles to other states.
After a year of what many call the nation’s most strict COVID-19 mitigations, Kennedy said California Gov. Gavin Newsom could see an outsized backlash over rolling blackouts even though he’s hardly to blame.
“Voters don’t care why something occurred, they just want it fixed,” Kennedy said. “Don’t underestimate how pissed off people will get after a year and a half of facing some of the worst times of their lives, how trigger happy they would be about blaming folks in government.”
McGuire criticized PG&E, the state’s largest utility provider, for not addressing the miles of transmission lines that remain in areas deemed at severe risk for wildfires.
“I don’t want to lose sight of the most immediate issues Californians are facing right now,” he said. “They want the public utilities commission, they want the Legislature, they want the governor to keep their damned lights on. That’s it. They want to be able to turn on their air conditioners in extreme heat days and they want to send their kids to school.”
Foster warned that a shift from fossil fuels at a large level could result in unaffordable electrical bills.
“We’re asking people to go to electric vehicles, we’re asking them to electrify their homes, electrify the ports, electrify industry,” he said. “You can’t keep that rate structure in place with that electrification.”
[the_ad_group id=”25840″]
Stillness in the Storm Editor: Why did we post this?
The news is important to all people because it is where we come to know new things about the world, which leads to the development of more life goals that lead to life wisdom. The news also serves as a social connection tool, as we tend to relate to those who know about and believe the things we do. With the power of an open truth-seeking mind in hand, the individual can grow wise and the collective can prosper.
– Justin
Not sure how to make sense of this? Want to learn how to discern like a pro? Read this essential guide to discernment, analysis of claims, and understanding the truth in a world of deception: 4 Key Steps of Discernment – Advanced Truth-Seeking Tools.
Stillness in the Storm Editor’s note: Did you find a spelling error or grammatical mistake? Send an email to [email protected], with the error and suggested correction, along with the headline and url. Do you think this article needs an update? Or do you just have some feedback? Send us an email at [email protected]. Thank you for reading.
Source:
https://justthenews.com/nation/states/power-officials-california-could-see-blackouts-summer
[the_ad id=”121669″]
Leave a Reply