When it comes to smart energy policy, L.A. County won’t be left in the dark

For the first time in nearly 20 years, state energy managers were forced to pull the plug on hundreds of thousands of Californians during a scorching heatwave over Labor Day weekend. The abrupt blackouts may have only lasted a few hours, but they rattled nerves of residents already shaken by persistent pandemic and uncertain economic times.

L.A. County residents are not immune from energy disruptions. But the good news is that the state has enough energy to meet demand. It just needs to do a better job of managing the grid.

Even better news: California is getting an increasing amount of power from renewable resources, which significantly reduces the harms associated with climate change. Here in Los Angeles, the Clean Power Alliance is taking hold. The locally operated electricity provider serves 3 million customers across 32 communities in Southern California with a systemwide average of 60% renewable energy with nearly a million customers receiving 100% renewable energy.

Here, the County’s Chief Sustainability Office answers questions about the blackouts and what the future of energy looks like in greater L.A.

Why has the power been going out this summer?

Power shutoffs are complex phenomena. They can happen for a variety of reasons, such as failing equipment or harsh weather. The culprit behind the recent Labor Day weekend outages was extreme heat. Torrid temperatures put California utilities on edge as projected demands teetered precipitously close to overtaking energy supply.

In these rare cases, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the non-profit in charge of making sure that there is sufficient energy supply for the statewide energy demand, calls for rotating outages to reduce energy demand. CAISO keeps tabs on the grid every minute of every day and has a protocol in place when demand is projected to exceed available energy.

Energy imbalances are very rare. Rolling blackouts hadn’t occurred since 2008 and before that since 2001. Sometimes power outages are caused from failing energy infrastructure, like transmission lines coming down in a fire or transformers overheating. Sometimes, power is intentionally shut off during high winds by the local utilities to avoid creating additional fire risk, in a process known as Public Safety Power Shutoffs. 

The energy insecurity events across the state and here in Los Angeles are a mix of these causes. (For details, check out the L.A. Times’ excellent reporting on the issue and this recent article on a possible cause for the events over the Labor Day weekend.)

High energy demand due to extreme heat is one of the driving forces behind blackouts. And just to be clear: climate change is fueling the record-breaking temperatures. Managers face a double whammy.  Essentially, climate change is pushing the energy system to respond to growing demands for energy – be it pumping water from the Delta to Los Angeles, or powering millions of air-conditioning units during a heatwave. At the same time, utilities must  figure out how to function in the face of climate change impacts that are already here, such as terrifying wildfires. It’s a steep order.

Is relying on fossil fuels the answer to meeting energy demand? 

No.

Using fossil fuels to respond to a situation caused by humans combusting fossil fuels will only make the problem worse over time—worse than the already bad situation we’re in.  Many of the worst outcomes caused by climate change, like extreme heat, most directly impact people of color and low-income communities. Secondly, as we saw over Labor Day weekend, energy conservation is a powerful tool to help reduce demand on the rare occasion that the energy system is stretched to its limits. Residents and businesses responded well to the call to conserve energy that weekend, which meant that rotating outages were much less severe than had been expected. 

Are the state’s clean energy goals to blame for power outages?

While the causes of the recent events are being investigated, it is clear that the shift to renewables isn’t the cause of power outages. (Nearly 20% of the state’s energy now comes reliably from solar sources alone.) The cause is at least in part due to a lack of planning at the statewide level for these increasingly likely extreme heat scenarios. More proactive planning would have dictated adding supply to correct for some sources being taken offline.  Moreover, more concerted effort to tap into energy storage at businesses and to help residents reduce energy demand in times of need would help. 

How does L.A. County fit in all this? What are our goals to reduce demands on the system?

To meet the County’s commitment to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, we are moving toward a zero-carbon energy system that quickly and drastically reduces our greenhouse gas emissions. We are working alongside many cities, counties, states, and nations around the world that aim to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. In doing so, we aim to protect our vulnerable populations, environment, and future generations.

By eliminating fossil fuel production in the County, including drilling, extraction, and refining, the County will also protect its residents from harmful local pollution that inequitably burdens workers, low-income communities, and communities of color.

Are the County’s clean energy goals unrealistic?

The County’s clean energy goals, as outlined in the OurCounty Sustainability Plan, are absolutely necessary to meet our commitment to address the root cause of extreme heat and increasing wildfire risk. We simply must stop the burning of fossil fuels that exacerbate climate change. These goals were established by the Board of Supervisors when it committed L.A. County to the Paris Climate Agreement.  If we want to have a chance of addressing why these calamities occur in the first place, we must aggressively pursue clean energy along with a suite of broader climate actions.  We cannot mitigate climate change alone, but showing leadership will help bring others along. 

When paired with fast-acting storage, clean energy has already been shown to meet demand.  As required by regulators, all energy utilities have to show that they have 15% more power in reserve than the projected demand each month. The Clean Power Alliance, which provides their customers a significantly higher share of clean energy than other utilities, has been able to meet this requirement every month.  So the proof that clean energy can meet demand by strict regulatory standards is already out there. 

What are the next concrete steps in helping the County meet these ambitious energy goals?

On October 1, the cities of Malibu and Sierra Madre will be the latest cities to move to 100% renewable energy through the Clean Power Alliance. They are just the latest in a growing number of cities that are getting a bigger share of renewable energy through the Clean Power Alliance.  Several years back, the County  established what is now the Clean Power Alliance, which achieves its mission by regional collaboration. It has achieved so much more than what the County initially envisioned by in helping to get renewable energy at affordable prices to residents and business across 32 cities in LA and Ventura counties. 

What can the average resident do to help us become more energy-secure?

Conserving energy is a good idea at all times of the year.  There are many programs available to help lower your energy needs both for renters, homeowners, and businesses.  The Southern California Renewable Energy Network is a hub for information about many of these programs. Your energy utility will also have programs. 

What lessons did we learn over Labor Day weekend about keeping the lights on in an increasingly hotter Los Angeles?

When considering public health, the full impacts of the extreme heat over Labor Day weekend is not fully known.  Extreme heat increases energy demand and has severe public health impacts, leading to more emergency room visits, asthma attacks, increased likelihood of worker injuries, and more. We know that preparing for more frequent extreme heat events is essential. 

Energy conservation took a big bite out of projected demand and limited the need for rotating outages, as did many companies who activated their on-site energy storage systems to reduce demand from the grid.  One of the Clean Power Alliance’s energy conservation programs, called the Power Response Program, gives customers a way to get rewarded for conserving power when needed. That program and other energy conservation programs kicked into gear that weekend. We’ll need to continue and grow programs like that one. 

We also learned that planning for energy supply is essential.  That’s why the County, through its role in the Clean Power Alliance, is responsibly planning for the future by having invested in 12 new renewable energy plants that will generate over 1,100 megawatts (MW) of new renewable energy – enough to power roughly 475,000 homes in Los Angeles along with 493 MW of energy storage. These projects – which represent over $1 billion in capital investments – will create 2,300 good clean energy jobs. This is what the future of energy looks like.