Pacific Gas and Electric says can meet California power demand this summer

July 21 (Reuters) – Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) on Friday said it is prepared to meet increased electricity demand in California this summer with new energy supply amid an ongoing heat wave

The company said it is bringing online new resources like battery energy storage, including an additional 700 megawatts (MW) than it had last summer.

California residents have worried about the effect of extreme weather after power grid operators were forced to impose rotating outages in the state during a brutal heat wave in August 2020.

At the time, PG&E said it had just 6.5 MW of battery energy storage connected to the power grid. By September, it expects to have 1,700 MW online, or enough to meet the demand of 1.2 million homes at once, it said.

PG&E said it is modifying programs that offer financial incentives for residential and business customers who reduce energy use during peak demand.

PG&E said it can reduce energy demand on the grid by up to 900 MW, or demand for about 650,000 homes, through its load management programs and contracts when large numbers of customers participate, it said.

PG&E also said it expects to have adequate hydropower to help meet peak summer demand periods.

Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru, editing by Deepa Babington

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