CBPA's California Legislative Update Special - Heat Wave
- COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE CALL TO ACTION – HELP MITIGATE HEAT WAVE
- REALTIME ENERGY INFORMATION
- CA GOVERNOR NEWSOM INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE CALL TO ACTION – HELP MITIGATE HEAT WAVE
Over the weekend, CBPA, NAIOP's California state lobbyist, worked with representatives of Governor Newsom’s office to find ways to try to mitigate energy impacts of the current historic heatwave.
Please see the following message, help as you can, and let us know anything we can report back to the Governor’s office showing how our industry is helping the current crisis.
The Governor’s office shared the following information:
- On Friday, California began to experience a power shortage of 1000 megawatts that resulted in the first rolling blackouts since early 2000.
- On Saturday, we had a shortage of 500 megawatts which resulted in a similar situation.
The administration believes the impact of the current shortage will likely expand and continue through Wednesday of this week. The Governor’s office shared that the California Independent System Operator (ISO) was not previously prepared for outages until 2021 and 2022 so they are attempting to manage the situation now. To compound the problem, the heatwave is covering the entire Western United States so the availability of importing extra energy is low.
The state is most vulnerable between the hours of 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and has asked us to consider raising thermostats in buildings to reduce AC and take other steps to minimize the amount of electricity used during this time period. The state has also asked that extra efforts to run the AC cooler in the non-peak period so the building could remain cool when reduced draw on the grid is most needed.
CBPA indicated that our industry is already following these types of protocols, but asked us to reach out to you, our members, in order to highlight the issues and request more vigilance. Please know that other parts of the business community and residential users are being asked to take similar measures. If larger building owners, property managers, essential retailers that are currently open and others could encourage taking energy conscious actions between now and Wednesday, it would be greatly appreciated by the Governor’s office and more importantly would serve our state overall.
If this is an action you are able to take, please share with us what specifically is being done so we can compile the information in order to demonstrate good business practices, email admin@naiopsfba.org.
REAL TIME ENERGY INFORMATION
You can get real-time information from the California Independent System Operator (ISO) through their app "ISO Today" and their twitter account @California_ISO. Click here or visit their website for more information http://www.caiso.com/Pages/default.aspx.
CA GOVERNOR NEWSOM INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
To follow are excerpts from the California Governor’s office on steps being taken to address the energy issues and what they are requesting of members of the public:
SACRAMENTO – As the West Coast continues to experience an historic heat wave and related energy shortages, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an emergency proclamation designed to free up energy capacity and reduce the need for temporary energy service disruptions.
The proclamation temporarily allows some energy users and utilities to use backup energy sources to relieve pressure on the grid during peak times during the energy emergency. The text of the proclamation can be found here and a copy can be found here.
Over the weekend, state officials worked aggressively to bring more energy resources online, including increased generation from sources like the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the California State Water Project and investor-owned utilities. The state has also worked with industrial and commercial consumers to reduce energy consumption during peak hours and to increase public awareness around energy saving measures.
All-hands energy meeting
The Governor yesterday convened an all-hands meeting with California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the California Energy Commission (CEC), the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and senior administration officials as the state and the entire West Coast anticipates serious power shortages as the heat wave intensifies over the coming week.
Guidance to residents and businesses to conserve power
Yesterday, CAISO issued a statewide Flex Alert calling 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.
CAISO highlighted three simple actions individuals and businesses can take to reduce energy consumption:
- Set your thermostat to 78° or higher between 3 and 10 P.M.
- Refrain from major appliance use between 3 and 10 P.M.
- Turn off unnecessary lights and appliances
Click here to read the full press release.
