CA heat wave causing sweat over demand for power

(From the latimes.com) California’s power grid was getting through its first major test of the summer amid a record-setting heat wave. But the continuing uncertainty over when the troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant will reopen has officials concerned about the coming months.

Officials had scrambled to put a system in place to provide energy during peak summer months without San Onofre, which typically supplies about 20% of the power for large swaths of Southern California. The plant has been offline for more than six months because of problems with newly replaced steam generators.

On Friday, they said the contingency plans had worked but they admitted to being anxious about future heat waves.

“This is just the first significant heat wave,” said Stephanie McCorkle, spokeswoman for the California Independent System Operator, which manages most of the state’s energy grid. “If we have successive heat waves, you’re going to have equipment fatigue.”

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