The Biden administration had praised Los Angeles as a pioneer in greening the power grid before blackouts on Saturday and Sunday disrupted life for Los Angeles residents.
Los Angeles is aim Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has set a goal of getting 100% of our electricity from green sources such as wind and solar by 2035. Declared In 2021 Federal investigation The city's energy transition feasibility study proves that greening the grid “is not only possible, but desirable.” Over the weekend, the city's power grid became unstable, causing tens of thousands of customers to lose power, and grid experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation they expect more of the same in the future as city residents plan to increase their reliance on intermittent generation.
“It's such a shame that Californians are suffering from ill-advised energy policies. A forced transition to politically palatable energy sources is a painful and costly process, but entirely preventable,” Travis Fisher, director of energy and environmental policy studies at the Cato Institute, told DCNF. “California policymakers can't change the global temperature, but they can be more vigilant in making sure we keep our air conditioners running on hot days.” (Related story: Power grid operators warn that Democratic climate policies are forcing blackouts in populous Democratic states)
Democrats' big green energy plan would drag US into China's hands, analysis sayshttps://t.co/YHH5A3e0fy
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 27, 2024
More than 100,000 homes lost power in the Los Angeles area due to a heat wave that lasted for several days. According to The blackout occurred at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, according to CBS News. Confused There was a USC football game on Saturday and a concert at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday. cancel Due to a power outage.
Democratic Mayor of Los Angeles Karen Bass Condemned Power outages due to extreme heat.
Hot weather typically leads to increased demand for electricity as more people turn on their air conditioners to stay cool. advice Customers were asked to set their air conditioners to 78 degrees Fahrenheit and not use appliances between 4 pm and 9 pm PDT to conserve energy. Officials similarly urged residents to turn up their thermostats to conserve energy during the 10 days of extreme heat in September 2022.
The state has a goal of achieving 100 percent green energy electricity generation by 2025. 2045Los Angeles is enacting its own municipal mandate on green energy for 2035. deadlineIn a 2021 press release announcing a study showing the city's plan for a rapid energy transition is feasible, Granholm said the paper proves “that a transition to clean energy is not only possible, but desirable.”
But this transition poses significant risks for Los Angeles and the state, because policymakers are essentially mandating reliance on intermittent, more expensive energy generation while prematurely shutting down reliable fossil fuel-fired generation, as energy sector experts have previously described to DCNF of similar situations in other parts of the country. Moreover, a variety of policies, such as California's 2035 electric vehicle mandate, are simultaneously driving up electricity demand, which could be problematic given concerns about the adequacy, reliability, and affordability of electricity supply in the coming years.
“They want to increase demand for electricity to replace fossil fuel demand. They want demand to increase. At the same time, they're not maintaining our grid and they're telling everybody to use less electricity,” Edward Ring, director of water and energy policy at the California Policy Center, told DCNF. “What a short-term solution this is. Let's use less electricity, but overall let's use more electricity, because no matter how efficient you make the load on your electric service, the load is inevitably going to increase with all those EVs running around. They're in a kind of civil war with themselves. This is a no-win policy.”
Neither LADWP nor Bass' office responded to requests for comment.
As an independent, nonpartisan news service, all content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation is available free of charge to any legitimate news publisher with a large readership. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and affiliation with the DCNF. If you have any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
