WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 2: Power lines and a tower are silhouetted by the sun as extreme temperatures reach the upper 90s in Walnut, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
As a champion heat wave continues to assert itself throughout the state, Californians again will be asked to power down their use of energy.
On Tuesday, a Flex Alert issued by the California Independent System Operator will run from 4-9 p.m., ending one hour earlier than Monday’s. A Flex Alert is in effect for the seventh straight day and asks residents to minimize their energy usage during those five hours to keep the state’s power grid afloat.
The hot air also is remaining relatively stagnant, according to the National Weather Service, and a Spare the Air alert moved into its fourth straight day. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District said it was not clear early Tuesday whether they will issue another one Wednesday.
The district forecast a day of moderately healthy air on Wednesday with, air-quality index figures expected to be between 51-100 through much of the region.
The Flex Alert comes as the state’s power grid faces perhaps its biggest-ever challenge. On Monday, ISO CEO Elliott Mainzer said they expect a 2,000 to 3,000 megawatt deficit, the highest ever.
“Our goal is to not see that,” Mainzer said during a press conference Monday. “And we’re going to do everything we can to bend that demand curve way beyond that before we get to significant grid disturbances.”
Temperatures on Tuesday were expected to approach or surpass Monday’s, when they reached record-setting marks of 116 in Livermore, 112 in Gilroy, 107 in Redwood City and 104 at the Mineta San Jose Airport.
Please check back for updates.
Originally published at Rick Hurd