California – so advanced they can keep the lights on quite a lot of the time

In LA temperatures are forecast to reach as high as 32C (90F) on Monday and 36C (97F) on Wednesday. (They call this a heatwave?) But gas is running so short that Californians are being asked to turn off non-essential lights and not use their biggest appliances from 5pm to 9pm.

Welcome to the future, where you need to plan ahead to run your washing machine or oven.

Back in the dark ages when we had coal plants, we just switched these things on hither, thither…

California power grid urges consumers to conserve energy in heat wave

(Reuters) – California’s power grid operator on Monday issued an alert to homes and businesses to conserve electricity on Tuesday and Wednesday when a heat wave is expected to blanket the state.

SoCalGas issued a gas curtailment watch on Monday, notifying customers to be prepared to reduce gas use if needed… the watch would remain in effect until further notice.

The ISO said consumers “can help avoid power interruptions” by turning off all unnecessary lights, using major appliances before 5 p.m. and after 9 p.m., and setting air conditioners to 78 degrees or higher.

By 2020 California may […]