Sufficient electricity supplies have been secured to meet the energy needs of the San Diego region this summer, officials announced Friday.
The declaration was made at a press conference by San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Gas Company, California Independent System Operator Corp. (ISO), and the California Energy Commission.
Officials said that there could be a call for customers to conserve energy at any time, in the event of a loss of a power plant transmission line, an extreme heat wave, a disruption in the natural gas system or any other of a number of unplanned events.
But Steve Berberich, president and chief executive officer of California ISO, the nonprofit that operates the majority of California’s power grid, said the system is ready for the summer.
“As we look at the threat of Aliso Canyon and fires and the normal things that happen down here, we think that reliability is in pretty good shape,” Berberich said.
He said although resources are secured, anything can happen.
“We will need, though, the customer support," Berberich said. "We will need them to respond when we have a flex alert — and they did. Just this last Monday we issued a flex alert and we saw 1,000-1,500 mega watts of load coming off the system."
Customers were also warned that there could be a call for them to shift the times of day when they use the most energy, in order to maintain the integrity of the local power grid.
For tools and resources to help save energy this summer, visit sdge.com
