Heat Wave & Power Outages Strike Los Angeles: Energy Load Peaks at 6053MW-Almost a New Record: June 20, 2008
June 21st, 2008 | Electricity, Heat Waves, news
A blistering heat wave blanketing much of the California coast over the past week showed no signs of letting up Saturday as temperatures headed back toward triple digits. Power was restored Saturday to almost all the 8,000 customers that were blacked out the day before when electrical demand skyrocketed because of the heat, said Terry Schneider, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Energy demand was expected to remain at peak levels into the weekend and the department had about 50 crews standing by to handle any overload problems, Schneider said. “The system is under tremendous strain to meet the energy demand,” he said. Temperatures hit record highs up and down the state Friday, including 103 degrees at San Jose, 105 at Escondido, 106 at Burbank and 108 at San Luis Obispo. The heat wave has been caused by northeasterly wind preventing sea breezes from penetrating a high-pressure system that has settled over the West.
LADWP crews worked throughout the night to restore power to nearly all customers who experienced a power outage yesterday due to soaring temperatures and customer demand for power. Fifty-three LADWP district and trouble crews are working throughout the City today to restore power to neighborhoods and handle any new incidents that may arise due to the anticipated high temperatures. While LADWP has enough power to meet the City’s needs during this heat wave, extraordinary demand during prolonged hot temperatures puts a tremendous strain on the City’s electrical distribution equipment. LADWP urges customers to cut back on energy consumption today as the potential for record-breaking temperatures remains high.
Yesterday, the energy load peaked at 6053 megawatts at 3:13 p.m. The all-time record peak load is 6165 megawatts, which occured July 24, 2006. http://www.ladwpnews.com/go/doc/1475/212590/
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