California survived the hottest August on record without needing Flex Alerts. Here's why

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Set us as preferred Californians just made it through the hottest August on record without having to endure any rolling power outages.And, as the Southland continues to sweat its way through record-setting heat and humidity this week, there have been no widespread calls to reduce energy.In fact, the state has not issued a Flex Alert since 2022, and it has not implemented rotating outages since 2020.

Over the last few years, California has quietly but dramatically increased the resiliency of its electrical grid through a significant expansion in battery energy storage.These batteries hold onto solar energy captured during the day, so it can be sent to the grid as demand peaks in the evening and morning, when most people are at home running air conditioners and other appliances.During the August heat wave of 2020, the California Independent System Operator, which manages the flow of electricity for most of the state, declared a Stage 3 Emergency and hundreds of thousands of households lost power in rolling outages.At the time, the system had less than 100 megawatts of battery storage available, according to system spokesperson Jayme Ackemann.

Today, it has more than 17,000 megawatts available.“In about five years, we have vastly increased the amount of battery storage that is available to us,” said Ackemann, “and that is great news.” Climate & Environment Batteries that pair with clean solar and wind energy or just bolster electrical grids in general have completely taken off and are making a big difference on the California grid.According to Ackemann, the system seeks to add another 20,000 to 25,000 megawatts of battery storage capacity by 2045 — the same year it has set a goal of achieving carbon neutrality.

That means the state would remove as many carbon emissions from the atmosphere as it emits.Hitting that...