KEY POINTS
  • California has avoided ordering rolling blackouts after electricity demand reached a record-high Tuesday night from excessive heat across the state. 
  • The California Independent System Operator, which oversees the state's electrical grid, imposed its highest level energy emergency on Tuesday, a step that comes before ordering rolling blackouts.
  • The possibility for widespread outages reflects how power grids in California and other states are becoming more vulnerable to climate-related disasters such as heat waves, storms and wildfires.
A temperature sign at an El Dorado Savings Bank during a heatwave in Sacramento, California, on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022.

California has avoided ordering rolling blackouts after electricity demand reached a record-high Tuesday night from excessive heat across the state. 

The California Independent System Operator, which oversees the state's electrical grid, imposed its highest level energy emergency on Tuesday, a step that comes before ordering rolling blackouts and allows the state to access emergency power sources.