People use more energy when it’s hot, and California’s power grid operator has issued a Flex Alert because of the current heat wave.
Cal-ISO is the state’s Independent System Operator. When the forecast for demand gets close to the state’s power generating capacity, the operator calls a Flex Alert. Stephanie McCorkle with Cal-ISO says it’s most important to conserve during the peak usage hours between 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
"Electricity is not something you can bottle up and store on a shelf. It is basically consumed the instant it is produced.”
McCorkle says the power grid has a maximum capacity of 54,000 megawatts, but that there is almost never that amount actually available. The forecast demand for today is about 47,000 megawatts.
A Flex Alert is also expected for Saturday and Sunday.
Information about today's Flex Alert status is available at the Cal-ISO website at http://www.caiso.com/Pages/Today's-Outlook-Details.aspx