2 million Californians avoid power outages after Trump rips Democrats for blackouts

California staved off another major rolling blackout Tuesday night, dramatically reducing electricity consumption just hours after President Donald Trump claimed that Democrats had “intentionally” previous power outages.

The Independent System Operator, which manages the state’s struggling power grid, called off its alerts at 8 p.m., ending the threat of a blackout that was projected to leave 2 million homes and businesses without electricity.

It was the second straight night that the ISO was able to avert a major blackout, following two nights of outages last week. Demand fell well below forecasts, and imports of power from other states were bigger than expected. ISO officials said they expect the situation to be brighter Wednesday, but problems could occur Thursday and beyond as higher temperatures are forecast to roll in.

As it became clear that no rolling blackouts were in store, the ISO tweeted, “Wow, California, you are doing this.” The alerts were called off an hour later.

Steve Berberich, chief executive of the California Independent System Operator, which runs the grid, had said the system was expected to fall short by about 2,700 megawatts Tuesday evening. That’s the equivalent of nearly three nuclear plants and enough electricity to power about 2 million customers.

Gearing up for the rolling outages, Pacific Gas and Electric — one of three investor-owned utilities that would be ordered to cut off power — unveiled a new online tool for its customers to find out if they would be affected by rolling blackouts. The address is pge.com/rotatingoutages.

The blackout watch began about an hour after Trump claimed on Twitter that Democrats were to blame for Friday and Saturday’s blackouts — which state officials have blamed on the weather.

“In California, Democrats have intentionally implemented rolling blackouts — forcing Americans in the dark. Democrats are unable to keep up with energy demand,” Trump tweeted.

The president offered no evidence for his claim that the blackouts were intentional. Nor did he explain why Democrats would want blackouts to occur.

In a followup tweet, Trump linked California’s woes to green-energy policies, going after Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “The Bernie/Biden/AOC Green New Deal plan would take California’s failed policies to every American!” he tweeted. Trump is fighting an uphill re-election battle against Biden.

California officials have acknowledged that a heavy reliance on solar power — which was responsible for nearly 20% of the state’s electricity supply Tuesday afternoon — has complicated grid reliability. Solar energy fades as the sun goes down, depriving the state of crucial supplies.

But Berberich has pointed to other problems, such as California utilities’ failure to line up more power through contracts well ahead of time, leaving them at the mercy of possible 11th-hour shortages.

“Renewables have not caused this issue,” Berberich told reporters.

On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state won’t retreat from its green-energy goals, which include a law that requires the grid to be carbon free by 2045. However, he said, “We cannot sacrifice reliability as we move forward in this transition.”

Berberich said heroic conservation efforts — led by refineries, ports and other industrial users responding to pleas from Newsom’s top aides — prevented major blackouts Monday night.

“It was a stunning conservation response,” he said.

He urged Californians to make a similar effort Tuesday to minimize or eliminate the threat of another round of rolling blackouts.

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District wouldn’t be affected by the ISO-ordered blackouts because it belongs to a different balancing authority.

Touring a cooling center in Sacramento on Tuesday, Newsom bristled at Trump’s tweets. The governor noted that the ISO is regulated by the federal government. “They’re the ones responsible for the orders to pull back,” Newsom said.

The ISO was created by the state in the late 1990s to oversee the deregulated energy market. It is a public benefit nonprofit corporation, not a government agency, although its board members are appointed by the governor.

In any event, Newsom urged Californians to keep conserving, noting that their efforts helped avert Monday’s blackouts. He recalled how his mother used to badger him to turn off the lights.

“Now, more than ever, listen to my mother,” he said.

This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 2:13 PM.