As a 90-degree heatwave approaches, Californians are cautioned not to charge their electric vehicles at certain times.
The action was taken shortly after the California Air Resources Board decided to outlaw gas-powered cars by the year 2035.
Between 4 and 9 pm, “when the system is most strained because demand for power stays high,” the California Independent System Operator (ISO) has urged citizens across the state to “decrease” their energy consumption.
Residents are requested to avoid using major appliances, set temperatures at 78 degrees or higher, avoid charging their electric cars during those hours, and turn off superfluous lights beginning on Wednesday and continuing through Tuesday.
The message said that reducing energy usage at that period would relieve the system’s stress and avert the need for more extreme measures, such as rotating power outages.
Following a public hearing on Thursday, when the California Air Resources Board ultimately decided to accept the policy, California is now the first state in the world to formally implement a ban on the sale of new gasoline-powered automobiles by the year 2035.
To meet the first quota of the plan that calls for 35 percent of new cars, SUVs, and compact trucks sold in California to be zero-emission vehicles by 2026, automakers must immediately limit the amount of gas-guzzlers they sell.
The target percentage rises every two years, reaching 51 percent by 2028, 68 percent by 2030, and finally 100 percent of all newly sold cars by 2025, with 20 percent of them being hybrid plug-ins.
Although the new policy may be a step in the right direction in the fight against emissions, authorities still have a number of challenges in ensuring that each of the objectives is accomplished.
Installing adequate charging stations around the state is one of these obstacles.
Despite having the most in the country, California will need 2.1 million by 2030 to fulfil the demand of the brand-new, enormous fleet of electric cars.
Up to this point, more than 73,000 public and shared chargers have been deployed, and another 123,000 are anticipated by 2025.
By 54,000 installations, these figures fall short of the state’s target of 250,000 charges.
California is anticipated to have mid- to high-90s temperatures over the weekend, while the West may anticipate a severe and protracted heatwave.
The demand would be “very tough” for manufacturers to satisfy, according to John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.
The statement from Bozzella said that “whether or not these needs are practical or possible is directly tied to external issues like inflation, charging and fuel infrastructure, supply chains, labour, crucial resource availability and cost, and the persistent semiconductor scarcity.”
These are complicated, related, and international concerns.
Additionally, authorities have not said how they would improve the power infrastructure to handle the influx of more electric cars or how it will handle a strained power grid during future heatwaves as a result.
The CA ISO informed DailyMail.com that although air conditioners are the main source of summertime strain on the power grid, it is still too early to predict the long-term implications of the driver switchover to more electric cars on the power grid.
For now, we are requesting EV users to avoid charging from 4-9 pm on Flex Alert days, if possible, said CA ISO Public Information Officer Anna Gonzalez to DailyMail.com on Wednesday.
“It’s too soon to say what the implications of the 2035 ban will be,” she said.
Instead, users may charge EVs earlier in the day, when there is a plentiful supply of solar energy and power costs are probably cheaper.
Gonzalez added to DailyMail.com that as the state “transitions to greener energy sources,” the organisation will continue to collaborate with “state authorities and our stakeholders.”
The state is spending $10 billion to make the transition to a greener state, according to Governor Gavin Newson, who dubbed the decision to ultimately become an all-electric car state “groundbreaking.”
He said that the switch will make buying electric automobiles “easier and cheaper for all Californians.”
The governor made his remarks in response to a report that suggested Californians might need to spend an additional $20,000 to buy a new electric vehicle, an amount that might be beyond the means of more than half of the state’s citizens who are in the middle-to-low income brackets.
Recently, the average cost of a brand-new electric car in the US increased to $66,000, a rise of more than 13 percent from the previous year, as opposed to the $43,338 cost of a gasoline-powered car.
The price of EVs is “well above industry average and more aligned with luxury prices versus mainstream prices,” according to Kelley Blue Book.
California and the rest of the West are anticipated to experience a high-temperature heatwave as Labor Day weekend draws near.
Intense and protracted heat waves with temperatures above average, more characteristic of June and July than early September, are expected, according to forecasters.
Due to the North American monsoon’s ability to keep temperatures below average, the majority of the West was spared violent heatwaves during the summer.
However, this weekend marks the beginning of the implementation of heat advisories and excessive heat watches.
Mid to high 90s are predicted for California this weekend through Tuesday.