Photo: Tesla
California's Independent System Operator, which is the state's power operator, has asked citizens to refrain from charging their EVs on August 30th, 2022. The move came under fire from multiple politicians, who criticized the state's leadership for voting to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035, but asking every EV owner to refrain from charging their car to prevent excessive stress on the power grid.
The fine irony in all this is that California's decision regarding the sale ban for new gasoline-engined cars came in late August 2022, just six days before the ISO request was made public.
Mind you, the request was made to prevent a peak load during the parts of the day with the highest temperatures, as well as the holiday weekend.
Californians were also requested to avoid using large appliances, as well as setting their thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, along with switching off all unnecessary lights on top of the request related to refraining from charging EVs. The Flex Alert, as California's ISO calls it, would be valid between 4 and 9 pm, because that is when there is less solar energy available, and the demand for electricity remains high.
In other words, unlike some news outlets noted, Californians were not banned or forbidden from charging their EVs, but this was a suggestion, as was the 78-degree minimum temperature on their thermostats, as well as the request to do their best to avoid using large appliances. The latter involves anything with a high power consumption.
Mind you, the Flex Alert Conservation Actions asked citizens to use their major appliances, such as dishwashers, washers and dryers, electric ovens, and electric stoves for pre-cooking and preparing meals, as well as charging electric vehicles before 4 pm.
Pre-cooling homes to 72 degrees F is also recommended during that time, as well as adjusting blinds and drapes to cover windows to prevent heating a house's rooms even further.
Previously, Californians were requested to refrain from filling up their pools, watering their lawns, or mowing them with two-stroke-engined devices.
As you can imagine, not everyone is happy with the request.
While you may have thought that this is a one-time thing, it was not, as the California ISO requested citizens to keep their energy demand as low as possible during certain hours on August 31st, as well as on September 1, 2022.
There is no word regarding a potential surge in power usage after 9 pm on the days when these Flex Alerts were active. Many electric vehicles can be programmed with their built-in software to charge during specific times of the day, so it would not be a problem to do so with most vehicles, but it might become a problem for the grid once “everyone and their mother” have an EV.
Once everyone is driving an EV, requests like this risk limiting their mobility, as well as having a blackout in certain areas because too many people need to charge their vehicles. When this ban becomes reality, the grid will need to be stronger than ever before.
Mind you, the request was made to prevent a peak load during the parts of the day with the highest temperatures, as well as the holiday weekend.
Californians were also requested to avoid using large appliances, as well as setting their thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, along with switching off all unnecessary lights on top of the request related to refraining from charging EVs. The Flex Alert, as California's ISO calls it, would be valid between 4 and 9 pm, because that is when there is less solar energy available, and the demand for electricity remains high.
In other words, unlike some news outlets noted, Californians were not banned or forbidden from charging their EVs, but this was a suggestion, as was the 78-degree minimum temperature on their thermostats, as well as the request to do their best to avoid using large appliances. The latter involves anything with a high power consumption.
Mind you, the Flex Alert Conservation Actions asked citizens to use their major appliances, such as dishwashers, washers and dryers, electric ovens, and electric stoves for pre-cooking and preparing meals, as well as charging electric vehicles before 4 pm.
Pre-cooling homes to 72 degrees F is also recommended during that time, as well as adjusting blinds and drapes to cover windows to prevent heating a house's rooms even further.
Previously, Californians were requested to refrain from filling up their pools, watering their lawns, or mowing them with two-stroke-engined devices.
As you can imagine, not everyone is happy with the request.
While you may have thought that this is a one-time thing, it was not, as the California ISO requested citizens to keep their energy demand as low as possible during certain hours on August 31st, as well as on September 1, 2022.
There is no word regarding a potential surge in power usage after 9 pm on the days when these Flex Alerts were active. Many electric vehicles can be programmed with their built-in software to charge during specific times of the day, so it would not be a problem to do so with most vehicles, but it might become a problem for the grid once “everyone and their mother” have an EV.
Once everyone is driving an EV, requests like this risk limiting their mobility, as well as having a blackout in certain areas because too many people need to charge their vehicles. When this ban becomes reality, the grid will need to be stronger than ever before.
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