The proclamation temporarily allows some energy users and utilities to use backup energy sources to relieve pressure on the grid at peak times during the energy emergency. State officials worked aggressively over the weekend to bring more energy resources online, according to a press release from the governor's office.
State officials noted that California's power grid is about 4,400 megawatts short of the energy needed to provide uninterrupted power service. Local authorities declared a statewide Stage 3 Electrical Emergency over the weekend, initiating rotating outages throughout the state for the first time since 2001.
In an effort to prevent or limit power outages during the heat wave, the California Independent System Operator issued a statewide Flex Alert, a call for voluntary electricity conservation, beginning Sunday and extending through Wednesday. The Flex Alerts are in effect from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. each day.
"Record-breaking heat is straining supplies; consumers should plan for potential outages," the California Independent System Operator, which controls around 80 percent of the state's power grid, tweeted on Sunday.
Officials urged California residents to refrain from major appliance use, turn off unnecessary lights and appliances, and set their thermostat to 78 degrees Fahrenheit (25.5 degrees Celsius) or higher between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Newsom convened an all-hands meeting on Sunday with officials from the state's energy agencies as the state anticipates serious power shortages with the heat wave expected to intensify over the coming week. Following the meeting, the governor urged officials to investigate the service disruptions that occurred over the weekend and the energy agencies' failure to predict and mitigate them.
"These blackouts, which occurred without prior warning or enough time for preparation, are unacceptable and unbefitting of the nation's largest and most innovative state," Newsom wrote in a letter to the state's energy agencies on Sunday.
The governor noted that California residents, who are battling challenging conditions of a heat wave combined with a global pandemic in which officials have encouraged people to stay at home as much as possible, "were forced to fend without electrical power -- a basic necessity."
"Residents, communities and other governmental organizations did not receive sufficient warning that these de-energizations could occur. Collectively, energy regulators failed to anticipate this event and to take necessary actions to ensure reliable power to Californians," noted the governor, adding that "this cannot stand."
Some counties in California opened cooling centers for local residents needing a break from the severe heat.
Officials with the California Independent System Operator warned that statewide rolling blackouts affecting up to 3.3 million California homes could begin as early as Monday evening.
Excessive heat warnings were issued by the National Weather Service on Saturday and will be in effect till Wednesday for most of Southern California. Temperatures in some areas hit record highs for the day on Sunday.
Temperatures in California's Death Valley reached 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 degrees Celsius) Sunday afternoon, the highest temperature recorded in the country since 1913, according to the National Weather Service.
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