"Yeah, but it's dry heat"
Posted on 07/21/2009 11:56:29 AM PDT by BenLurkin
The largest utility in southern California urged consumers on Monday to conserve power to help keep air conditioners running without interruption as hot weather sends demand soaring over the next few days.
Temperatures in Los Angeles will reach the low 90s Fahrenheit (low 30s Celsius) Monday and Tuesday with the humidity making it feel more like the low 100s F (high 30s C), according to AccuWeather.com.
Edison International's Southern California Edison utility said its transmission system was performing well but the continuing multi-day heat wave and lighting caused some isolated equipment failures and scattered outages.
As the heat continues, the utility warned it was possible other equipment might fail because of the high ongoing usage.
The California Independent System Operator, which operates much of the state's power grid, forecast demand this week, would not top the all-time usage record of more than 50,000 megawatts. The ISO forecast demand would reach about 44,400 MW on Monday and 45,200 MW on Tuesday.
While saying it expects to have sufficient resources to meet demand this week and throughout the summer, Southern California Edison noted conservation could provide an added reserve should an unexpected power emergency occur.
Unexpected emergencies could include mechanical problems affecting a major power plant or wildfires shutting down a major transmission system.
Southern California should see some relief Wednesday when high temperatures fall to the low 80s...
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Like a third world country. Instead of an energy policy that provides for cheap plentiful energy, we go in the opposite direction
it’s freezin’ in NYC today.
Everything considered, so far this summer has been pretty mild.
LOW 90’s? In So. Cal in the summer? I remember 120 degree days for a week. This is an attempt to bolster crap & tax. Don’t fall for it (although the electric utility may be hurting, but if it is, it is because of regulations from Sacropsycho).
Actually, much more like 'all systems are nominal' written up to make it into a panic situation. The power 'crunch' that California experienced a few years ago was very much caused by outside traders capitalizing on the market and manipulating it to keep the prices ultra-high. Amazingly, as soon as the outside traders dropped out of the system, gosh, prices returned to normal (or slightly below normal).
Alas, us rate payers are still getting the unlubed stick in our posterior as cities pile on the taxes, fees for government programs, and usage 'norms' that don't take into account anything beyond basic lighting and maybe some cooking - you'll almost always go over your baseline allowance if you dare use an air conditioner or even a dish washer.
Perhaps that should be Psychomento. You decide. Either one fits.
I am not impressed as daily it has been over or close to 100 for about three weeks. Do you think CA will want to but power from Texas like they did a few years ago? Will they bitch about the price again? Maybe we should tell them to buy it from Obama’s nukes, not ours ... oh wait ... I think the price just went up again!
‘But it's a dry heat’...Yea, right, so is a freaking pizza oven!
California's never been short of generation capacity - the energy market manipulation early on in open trading hurt a lot, and of course, always of concern is the maze of environmental regulation and NIMBY mentality that goes on in the state. Our single biggest issue is the lack of redundancy in north-south transmission corridors.
Doesn't mean that Reuters won't write a paranoia article every couple weeks each summer. As for the state's utilities, to get to the rolling blackouts we had in the state a few years ago, it'd require a massive fire under the major north-south interchange, three or more downed large power plants while at the same time ten or more smaller plants are in required shutdown mode due to emissions limits, the failure of the emergency energy management plan to properly trip (in exchange for reduced electrical rates, homeowners and businesses can opt to put a shut off device on their air conditioner that SCE can trip to reduce load.. These devices have not been extensively tested in real world situations.)
I personally doubt we'll see any rolling blackouts in California again until Obama’s cap and trade legislation fully impacts the state's generators and forces them to shut down when emissions limits are reached.
Getting cooler today...
LA Power wants to shut off the coal fired plants and in San Diego they are fighting a new power line feeding a city which is abolutely maxed out during hot weather.
So..use as much electricity as you can. Charge your electric car if you go it. The best thing that could happen is a black out to wake up those idiot voters.
You can bet that Boxer, Feinstein and Waxman all have the AC’s going full blast at their mansions.
Our electricy bill runs $50 per month, because we have no a/c and a 1600 sqft house. They have mansions and want to tell me how much electricity I can use and where it should come from. Screw them. (that is to terrible to imagine).
I thought that this Smart Grid technology allowed Democrats to individually shut off air conditioners based on racial criteria and party of voter registration....
Quick, we need more wind power!
lol....87 is no biggy...It is summer...You must live in a cold northern state.
Ya wanna see real heat? Dial up the temps in Phoenix, (supposed to get 108 today)... or some southern state where the heat + humidity resembles the surface of Venus, where even the mosquitoes are pissed off.
dragnet2,
87 with a nice Pacific breeze to you or I may be awesome. For a lot of ill or elderly that may be a killer.
Never forget going to class at Canoga Park Elementary in say October when the Santa Anta winds blew off the desert and it got over a hundred. No air conditioning.
Today they’d call it child abuse.
Where about in South California you at?
Now is the time to pull the plug on all electricity sold to California that is produced in coal fired power plants!
Lake Havasu City, AZ is supposed to get up to about 112 today. The more inland ya go, the warmer it gets...Same every summer.
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