Solving California’s Power Crisis Is Both Simple and Unpopular
The state has options for reducing outages, even in record-breaking heat waves
Power lines and transmission towers at sunrise in Crockett, California, U.S., on Aug. 19.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Modern societies aren’t supposed to lose power when it gets hot, and few spots are as indispensable to modernity as California, home to some of the world’s most significant and electricity-dependent tech companies. So when blackouts rolled across the state last month, they weren’t merely a local embarrassment but a challenge to the region’s future felt across the globe.
The state does have options for reducing outages, even in record-breaking heat waves. And while some would take time, others could be quick, such as raising prices steeply during high demand. A number of clear fixes won’t pass political muster at the moment, however.