The scorching California sun has pushed the states power generation structure to the limits. Under this near record breaking demand for power, the state has promoted the state to issue warnings asking people to use as little electricity as possible.

The states grid managers are now in a Stage 1 emergency, the first of three steps that lead to a blackout. They say that if they reach blackout stage they will be forced to cut power to parts of the grid in order to avoid a system wide crash.

“We’re tapping our operating reserves and we are stepping up our calls for conservation, but we are still a long way from a Stage 3 alert and blackouts,” said Stephanie McCorkle, a spokeswoman for the California Independent System Operator.

For two days now demand has surged well over forecasted limits (1000 MW over!), if that happens again today they will set an all time record for energy demand, not to mention coming close to using all the available supply.

Makes you wonder, what would happen if California has a couple thousand MW of solar power plants spread around the state on days like this? Solar power is so key for situations like this because it produces peak load during these super hot days of summer when demand for power is at its peak. Similarly it is most often the windiest in the winter, during another peak demand for heating costs. Combining the two with geothermal, and solar thermal, can produce a year round way to “smooth out” the peaks and toughs in energy demand.

California is working on getting solar up and running. The state has one of the best financial setups for solar, encouraging many big box retailers and homeowners alike to cover the roofs with solar panels at their stores. Lets hope they keep up the swift pace of solar integration, because it looks like the demand for energy is not going down.