California officials on Labor Day issued a power grid emergency and said blackouts are possible if people don’t cut back enough on electricity usage amid hot weather.
The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) issued a stage one emergency alert for the grid, starting at 5 p.m. Pacific Time and lasting four hours.
Stage one emergencies are issued when “all available resources are in use and CAISO will no longer [be] able to meet expected energy requirements,” according to the agency’s system operating procedures.
CAISO is forecasting usage on Monday and Tuesday to set new records, Elliott Mainzer, president and CEO of the operator, told reporters in a briefing….