SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an emergency proclamation aimed at freeing up additional energy capacity in anticipation of the upcoming heat wave in California.
According to a press release from the governor’s office, the proclamation suspends “certain permitting requirements” that allows power plants to generate more power to help alleviate demands on the state’s power grid.
Energy facilities will still be required to report any violations of the suspended permitting requirements to the relevant local or state regulatory body, the press release states.
Text of the proclamation is included at the bottom of this article.
Newsom’s proclamation comes as a statewide Flex Alert was been issued for Labor Day weekend by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO). The agency is also asking people to conserve electricity.
CAISO said it does not expect there to be any blackouts for this alert, but officials say they will know more the day before each day in the alert.
The Flex Alert was announced Thursday and calls for voluntary electricity conservation beginning Saturday and will go through Monday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Labor Day weekend temperatures are forecast 10-20 degrees above normal for California, leading to an increase in electricity demand, primarily from air conditioners.
In August, California ordered rolling power outages for the first time since 2001 as a statewide heat wave strained its electrical system. Nearly 250,000 power customers lost power during that time. The last time the state ordered rolling outages was during an energy crisis in 2001.
The proclamation also contains provisions related to the use of generators and auxiliary ship engines.