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California authorities approved a plan to ban the sale of gas cars from 2035 to promote the sale of electric vehicles as part of its climate change agenda. A week later, they are asking citizens to avoid charging their electric cars over the holiday weekend because of problems with the electricity grid caused by a heat wave.
Last a Thursday, the California Air Resources Board approved a project called Advanced Clean Cars II, which sets out a roadmap for 100% of new cars and light trucks sold in California to be zero-emission by 2035, including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
IT'S OFFICIAL: California votes to approve ban on the sale of new gas cars by 2035. https://t.co/ZuzTzb1Ehv
— FOX 11 Los Angeles (@FOXLA) August 25, 2022
But California’s power grid may not be ready to make that leap. This Tuesday, five days after the Resources Board’s proud decision, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) issued a warning indicating that a heat wave that will intensify over the weekend could overload power demand and result in outages.
“Starting tomorrow through Tuesday, California and the West are expecting extreme heat that is likely to strain the grid with increased energy demands, especially over the holiday weekend”, a CAISO notice explains.
For that reason, CAISO is asking Californians to exercise “voluntary energy conservation,” and is calling on them to reduce their electricity consumption between 4:00 p. m. and 9:00 p. m.
“The top three conservation actions are to set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, avoid using large appliances and charging electric vehicles, and turn off unnecessary lights”, the document continues. “Lowering electricity use during that time will ease strain on the system, and prevent more drastic measures, including rotating power outages”.
The operator warned that, should power system conditions worsen, it will issue emergency warnings aimed at preventing power outages.
Tomás Lugo, journalist and writer. Born in Venezuela and graduated in Social Communication. Has written for international media outlets. Currently living in Colombia // Tomás Lugo, periodista y articulista. Nacido en Venezuela y graduado en Comunicación Social. Ha escrito para medios internacionales. Actualmente reside en Colombia.