California grid operator CAISO has been curtailing renewable energy at record levels this year, as the state’s ever-rising share of solar power during daylight hours increasingly outpaces electricity demand. Adding to its challenges, the grid operator is now contending with falling power demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
San Francisco Bay Area counties issued a shelter-in-place order and mandated a halt to all nonessential work on March 17, and Gov. Gavin Newsom extended the order statewide two days later. In the following weeks, CAISO has recorded a significant drop in demand from shuttered businesses, largely centered on the Bay Area and served by Pacific Gas & Electric, and in regions served by utility Southern California Edison.