California's alternative energy not reliable as more outtages reported

California Globe:
Over the weekend, PG&E turned off power in Napa, during a heat wave, only restoring power later in the day. More power outages came at 9 p.m. to customers in Butte County, Yuba County, and Sierra Foothills.

The Associated Press headline touted this as “proactive,” using language directly from PG&E’s press release: “California utility proactively cuts power because of weather.”

The Los Angeles Times called it a “precaution:” “Yolo County fire grows to 1,700 acres; PG&E shuts off power in parts of Northern California as a precaution.”

PG&E reported, “Power outages are needed for wildfire safety.”

Southern California Edison also has numerous outages, and San Diego Gas & Electric has shut off power, although not this weekend, or this season, a spokesperson confirmed. All of the energy providers are worried that transmission lines may start a fire. PG&E has been warning they will be de-energizing power lines in at-risk rural areas during windy days, to avoid a repeat of the deadly wildfire in Paradise, CA last year that killed 85 people and destroyed 15,000 homes in the area.

There has been little to no discussion about people confined to home, reliant on consistent electricity for medical devices: respiratory aids, electronic muscle stimulators, artificial Pancreas devices, devices that measure blood coagulation, and breast pumps, to name a few.
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Yet this comes as California has taken nuclear power plants offline while increasing mandates for wind and solar. Nuclear power is clean and reliable; wind and solar power, while clean, are unreliable and significantly more expensive.
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“Besides having the most expensive electricity west of the Mississippi River in the continental U.S., California already has the least reliable electricity,” Forbes reported. “California easily leads the nation with nearly 470 power outages a year, compared to 160 for second place Texas, which is really amazing because Texas produces 125% MORE electricity! (here).”

“California’s reliability problems will be multiplied as more wind and solar enter the power mix, intermittent resources located in remote areas that cannot be so easily transported to cities via the grid.”
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There is more.

California is a classic example of the foolish choices liberals make on energy policy.  It has some of the highest energy costs in the country along with some of the least reliable sources because of alternative energy.

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