California wants to ban gas-powered cars by 2035. The state wants everyone to have electric vehicles.
What about days when you have to conserve energy? These Flex Alerts include a provision to avoid charging electric vehicles.
I’m laughing so hard right now because California is ready to issue those Flex Alerts due to a heatwave. From The Los Angeles Times (emphasis mine):
For officials with the California Independent System Operator, which operates the Golden State’s power grid, a lengthy and punishing period of high temperatures means Flex Alerts are likely.“If weather or grid conditions worsen, the ISO may issue a series of emergency notifications to access additional resources and prepare market participants and the public for potential energy shortages and the need to conserve,” the officials warned Tuesday night. “The power grid operator expects to call on Californians for voluntary energy conservation via Flex Alerts over the long weekend.”During a Flex Alert, consumers are urged to reduce their energy use from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., hours when the grid is most stressed because of high demand and less available energy from solar panels.If a Flex Alert is issued, customers will be asked to set their thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, avoid using large appliances and charging electric vehicles, and turn off unnecessary lights.
Dyyyyyying. But then again, when it’s that hot, do you want to leave the house? I never want to!
What about solar panels? Yup: “The power grid is particularly vulnerable in the evening, as electricity from solar panels tapers off but it’s still so hot that residents keep air conditioners humming.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom knows the system is weak. He wants the state “Legislature to loan PG&E Corp. up to $1.4 billion to postpone the scheduled 2025 closure of Diablo Canyon.”
These people aren’t used to the sweltering heat we feel in Oklahoma and Texas. Thankfully OKC doesn’t have the Houston humidity, which I do NOT miss.
The Flex Alert sounds like what we call Smart Hours in OKC. Monday through Friday, we pre-cool our homes from 12-2 and turn the AC to a higher temp between 2-7 PM. Like ordinary people, we do all of this during those Smart Hours:
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