Why rolling blackouts are back | Rob Nikolewski, Gary Robbins - a podcast by San Diego Union-Tribune

The bad old days — and nights — of rotating power outages in California are back for the first time in nearly 20 years. And they could be back in a big way for the next few days.

But unlike 2001 when market manipulation from rogue entities like Enron were at the root of rolling blackouts, grid operators blame these outages on a combination of reasons that include finding sources to back up energy sources that compose the current grid in the state and a heatwave that not only affected all of California but its neighboring states as well.

“We are scouring every corner of our world to find additional load reductions and generation,” said Steve Berberich, the CEO of the California Independent System Operator, known as CAISO for short. The scale of the outages statewide could be in the millions, Berberich acknowledged.

Read more: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/energy-green/story/2020-08-17/california-experiences-first-rotating-power-outages-in-19-years-what-happened

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