[BajaGringo]

We saw this coming – it really should not be that big a surprise to anybody, especially the authorities who have been getting these warnings from CFE for several years now that the grid is approaching its limits with only a few possible (realistically speaking) solutions:

1. Add more solar/wind farms to offset peak demand
2. Install Time of Use (ToU) type meters to help reduce demand during peak hours
3. Build more conventional power plants

There are some other things they can do like offer better incentives for users to exchange their old appliances for new, more energy efficient models as well as give tax incentives for business to install rooftop solar systems as well as increased public information type campaigns to educate people as to why they need to conserve their energy consumption, but I have found that a ToU meter does that quite quickly with the lesson learned after the first billing cycle.

We live here completely off-grid and as the grid continues to creep closer, it looks like we might be connected sometime during the next 12-24 months, however I already decided not to convert ours into a grid tied system but instead will keep it independent with a 3 way selector switch to ensure that we always have power here.

[amandae]

Probably the best overall answer

[gaviota]

Here on this side of the border, SoCal Edison has 1,383 scheduled blackouts planned for this summer.

https://www.sce.com/outage-center/check-outage-status

[BajaGringo]

The U.S. power grid is old, largely outdated and pretty much maxed out as well now having to deal with more and more homeowners placing increasing demands on the system with electric appliances and now eCars. Many cities across the country are facing programmed blackouts this summer.

[mx-rider]

The U.S. had the opportunity to get ahead of the alternative energy race nearly 50 years ago but shelved it in favor of more subsidies for oil companies. And here we now find ourselves today, still largely dependent on oil and living with ongoing blackouts. We keep taking one step forward and two steps backwards.

[bajabill]

Yep, big bucks from oil lobbyists really doomed us in that regard and they were smart – doling out lots of cash to politicians in both parties.

[amandae]

Are there any large cities in California not dealing with blackouts this summer???

[mx-rider]

I really don’t understand why they are not building more large scale solar farms down there.

[sawdogger]

One reason I have heard is that the cost of land is going up dramatically as well as NIMBY type protests.

[JuanSoler]

Looks like CFE lost almost a half billion dollars last quarter so don’t expect to see a lot of new infrastructure projects in the near future.

https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/cartera/cfe-reporta-perdidas-por-8-mil-707-millones-de-pesos-en-segundo-trimestre-de-2022

[guacamole]

California posts a live grid capacity vs demand informational page, if anybody is interested.
https://www.caiso.com/TodaysOutlook/Pages/default.aspx

[amandae]

Thanks, that’s a great page to bookmark.