The impending electricity crisis in California is quite a worrying prospect for a lot of people, not just residents but also business owners. It can be recalled that some of the hungriest establishments will get taxed a lot more for electricity use, as was voted by the authorities in the state.
While other electric utility providers and companies are trying to compensate and plan ahead for a surging power demand from the citizens of California, one company is planning something big. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) not only plan ahead but has actually requested proposals of four massive energy storage facilities, each with a capacity of 182.5 megawatts (MW). The project will then have a total capacity of 567 MW after certain calculations for electricity.
PG&E’s competitive solution
The proposed massive storage plan is none other than PG&E’s answer to the authorization of California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The said commission compelled PG&E to come up with a more competitive solicitation for energy storage, this is to meet specific local area needs in some of the areas in California.
What this means for some of the residents in California is a more thorough and generally better distribution of electricity from PG&E. It is quite an important aspect of electric utility since rotational power outages might be needed in the Summer season, and PG&E’s improvement of its energy storage system could alleviate the need for such unfortunate necessities.
The three specific areas targeted in CPUC’s authorization for PG&E are located in the northern central valley (Pease local sub-area and Bogue local sub-area) and spanning Silicon Valley to the central coast (South Bay – Moss Landing local sub-area). People living in this area could soon expect better electricity stability and a better service from PG&E.
More power to the Californians
In a literal sense, California is about to receive more power thanks to PG&E’s efforts as well as CPUC’s initiative. The project might soon commence construction, but at the moment is still just a plan. Though everything appears to be in order right now, and PG&E is expected to make progress for the four storage batteries soon.
As for the equipment, PG&E is going to utilize a 182.5-MW lithium-ion battery energy storage system at the Moss Landing substation. This local equipment is expected to address the power concerns of all establishment in its area of responsibility. It will be joined by three other batteries in other areas, supposedly with fewer storage capacities depending on the density of the population or establishments.
With this in mind, PG&E is keen on making this plan come true and providing better electricity for Californians. This project is especially more urgent now because of the price hike for California this Summer and perhaps even in the near future. So if you live in California right now, you can rest assured that something is being done to alleviate the energy cost from your utility provider. Though there are also some other viable solutions should you want to improve the situation yourself, like solar power.