CA still struggles to avoid blackouts as new heat wave arrives
Two years after the last rolling blackouts, with an intense heat wave starting to blanket the West, California’s electricity grid remains extremely vulnerable to power outages. The potential shortfall in power supplies is the result of climate-driven heat waves, drought-induced strains on hydro power and global supply-chain problems that are hindering the flow of new energy sources. Temperatures were expected to hit the high 90s Wednesday and soar to as high as 115 degrees Monday in parts of the Sacramento Valley, sending state officials scrambling to avoid a repeat of the rolling blackouts of 2020.