California Grid Operator Doesn’t Expect Rolling Blackouts Today

(Bloomberg) -- The operator of California’s power grid does not expect to order rolling blackouts on Wednesday as the heat wave that’s smothered the state begins to ease.

After imposing targeted outages twice in less than a week, officials expect slightly lower demand for electricity and higher output from wind, solar and out-of-state imports, Steve Berberich, the chief executive officer of California Independent System Operator, said in a news conference.

He stressed, however, that it’s crucial for big users to do their best to reduce consumption and avoid stressing the system.

“We do expect to be able to meet our obligations today with the conservation measures,” Berberich said.

That could change, however, if a big power plant or transmission line fails, he said.

The recent outages have drawn criticism from industry experts who say they weren’t necessary, prompted Governor Gavin Newsom to open an investigation and raised questions about the reliability of the state’s grid, which has become increasingly dependent on intermittent solar and wind generation in recent years.

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