ROSEVILLE, Calif. — Along with calls to conserve amid a record-breaking heat wave, officials were also calling for boosts to supply, courtesy of some new generators.
Californians are familiar with the California Independent System Operator's Flex Alerts, which ask people to voluntarily reduce energy consumption. However on Monday, they called on a newer tool for an unprecedented heat wave, two new emergency generators.
The generators came online in Roseville and Yuba City Monday night and boosted supply as the power grid grew strained. It's all part of a broader effort to keep electricity flows in balance.
Families like the Leungs were cooling off at the Roseville Galleria Mall, taking refuge from the heat. They were among the millions of electrical customers around the state observing the Flex Alert.
"We’re trying to help SMUD out a little bit here. We got all these alerts saying don’t use too much energy from four to nine," said Alan Leung.
The conservation of power was one option that state leaned toward, but the other was boosting capacity. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) said they did something that they’ve never done before and activated their new generators.
Tony Meyer, with DWR, said Cal ISO requested the activation of the generators, which he said were bringing in additional power to the state within 10 minutes. It was an extra 120 megawatts that he said was enough to power up to 120,000 homes.
It was all in an effort to keep air conditioners and the lights on. DWR said it plans on bringing another 180 megawatts of the same type of generating units to be ready and operational by fall of 2023.
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