California's grid constraints sees Verizon turn to backup energy

Records have been broken in Sacramento, California, as temperatures hit 116F (46.7C) this week. In response, as reported by Baxtel earlier this week, the California Independent System Operator (ISO) – the overseer of the State's electricity generation, issued a Flex Alert, requesting energy users to limit usage between 4pm and 9pm. Now, in response to the extreme heat's pressure on the grid, US telco has announced that it has voluntarily switched to using its back power at six of its mobile switching centers.

This decision was announced on Tuesday, when CAISO announced that electricity demand peaked at 52,061MW, beating the previous high of 50,270MW back in 2006.

Speaking about its decision to switch to backup energy, the company said: "Verizon is taking extraordinary steps to help prevent rolling blackouts in California as temperatures rise to extreme levels this week. The following actions will provide meaningful relief to reduce the impact on the state's power resources while minimizing the risk to our customers and employees."

Adding: "Throughout the year, Verizon Wireless prepares comprehensive disaster recovery plans to test emergency generators and backup batteries to keep the network online in the event of a power outage. By proactively running the switches on backup power during the Flex Alert period today, Verizon hopes to free up power resources so residents and businesses can stay connected to essential services."