A local resident walks by the power grid towers at Bair Island State Marine Park in Redwood City, California, United States, January 26, 2022.
A local resident walks by the power grid towers at Bair Island State Marine Park in Redwood City, California, United States, January 26, 2022. Reuters / CARLOS BARRIA

KEY POINTS

  • California ISO said reserves have become insufficient to shoulder power demand
  • Energy Emergency Alert Level 3 is the highest
  • High temperatures are expected to last through Friday

Electric power system provider California Independent System Operator (ISO) has said that it is possible to experience rolling blackouts now that the Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) has been raised to its highest at Level 3. The operator said rotating outages will be implemented to help stabilize the overwhelmed system as the state grapples with a "life-threatening" heat wave this week.

"If necessary, the grid operator can now order rotating power outages to lower demand and stabilize the system," California ISO said in a Tuesday news release. The operator further explained that the EEA 3 was declared "as grid conditions worsened" and "energy supplies were determined to be insufficient to cover demand and reserves."

The California ISO noted that residents affected by rotating outages will be informed via phone, text, or email.

Shortly after the ISO declared EEA 3, utility company PG&E warned its customers of possible rotating outages. The utility provider provided a list of blocks that could be affected by the rolling blackouts should the power grid be unable to bear the state's energy demand. The provider also started implementing rolling outages in some parts of Alameda and Palo Alto.

While some people in the Bay Area have been affected by an outage since Monday, more than 32,000 customers of PG&E have been without power as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, local KABC-TV reported.

In a statement Tuesday on the heat wave that is affecting California's power grid, the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the governor is extending the State of Emergency initially announced late in August to increase energy production in the state.

"We need everyone – individuals, businesses, the state and energy producers – to do their part in the coming days and help California continue to meet this challenge," Newsom said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, temperatures in some parts of California hit all-time record highs Tuesday.

According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Sacramento, the temperature in downtown Sacramento was 116 degrees Tuesday. "This broke the previous all-time record high temperature of 114 set on July 17, 1925," the agency said.

Stockton tied with the previous all-time record of 115 degrees in July 2006.

The NWS in Los Angeles warned that relief from the heat is "still many days away," adding that the "extreme heat wave" is expected to last through Friday.

The NWS Weather Prediction Center (WPC) also warned of "life-threatening, record-breaking heat" through Friday, adding in its Short Range Forecast Discussion report that as of Tuesday, more than 50 million residents across the country were under heat-related warnings.

Check here for a full list of Excessive Heat Warnings effective through Friday in various states, including California and Nevada.