Officials credit the emergency alert sent Tuesday night for the avoidance of widespread blackouts during record-setting energy demands.
— Cal ISO had readied local utility providers to implement rolling blackouts if conditions did not improve. The state just reached record-setting electricity demand, and Mainzer said energy use was not decreasing,until that alert was issued.
“Our absolute intent is not to have to do that again tonight,” Mainzer said. “That is a tool of absolute last resort.”He called Tuesday an “extraordinarily challenging day” for the power grid, almost pushed to the brink as record-setting temperatures scorched much of the state. Officials projected a peak demand at 51,146 megawatts, but by Tuesday evening, California set an all-time record of 52,061 megawatts.
There are about 27 million people who live in the targeted counties, said Brian Ferguson, a spokesperson for the emergency services office. Alerts were sent in English and in Spanish. San Francisco, Marin and Humboldt counties did not receive alerts because, although they have large populations, most people do not use air conditioning.
“It is pretty unprecedented [for the emergency alert system] to be used this way, particularly for energy,” Ferguson said.
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