CA Sets New Record For Power Use As Brutal Heat Wave Continues. How Are You Dealing?

Despite calls to conserve power, California’s energy demands were at an all-time high Tuesday. The extreme heat wave is creating a big need for power, so much that we blew past a record set during a heat wave 16 years ago. Cal-ISO, which operates the state’s power grid, first reported that energy use in the state surpassed more than 50,300 megawatts as of 3:09 p.m. Tuesday. That was 68 megawatts above the 2006 record. Ultimately it hit 52,061 megawatts. Cal-ISO typically calls an alert when temperatures are hot. Energy consumption runs higher during these times, so people need to cut down. But heat isn’t the only factor. All of these issues can put a strain on our state’s power grid. Meanwhile, the Fairview Fire in Hemet exploded over Labor Day weekend killing two residents as they were trying to flee. Today on AirTalk, we’re joined by Eric Boldt, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, Daniel Kammen, professor of energy at UC Berkeley, and Jon Heggie, battalion chief with Cal Fire, to discuss the latest on SoCal’s heat wave, the fire raging in Hemet, and the new power use record set last night by Californians.