California utilities continue power outages as fires rage in dry, windy conditions

Power outages continue to grow across Southern California Jan. 9 as utilities de-energize transmission lines as severe wind and drought conditions feed wildfires, driving down electricity demand and wholesale prices.

Firefighters could catch a break as wind-powered generation in the region is forecast to drop with a peak forecast around 775 MW Jan. 9, compared to peaks of over 4 GW Jan. 6-8, according to data from the California Independent System Operator. However, the break will be short lived.

Wind generation is forecast to peak around 2.4 GW Jan. 10 and 2.6 GW Jan. 11, according to CAISO data. CAISO has 8.345 GW of installed wind resources, according to its latest Key Statistics report.

Peakload has averaged 2.4% lower so far in January compared to a year ago, according to CAISO data.

The surge of wind and drop in demand has pulled down wholesale power prices.

SP15 on-peak day-ahead traded in the upper $20s/MWh for Jan. 10-11 delivery on the Intercontinental Exchange. In comparison, SP15 on-peak day-ahead locational marginal prices averaged about $62/MWh in January 2024, while NP15 on-peak LMP averaged about $80.25/MWh, according to CAISO data.

Public Safety Power Shutoffs

Over 420,000 customers were without power across the state as of 12:15 pm PT Jan. 9, according to poweroutage.us. As a measure of last resort, utilities initiate Public Safety Power Shutoffs to proactively cut off power to electrical lines to reduce the risk of fires caused by electric infrastructure.

The majority of the outages are in the Southern California Edison service territory, which reported 336,387 customers without power as of 9:30 am Jan. 9, including 167,611 from PSPS.

"The wind event was unprecedented," SCE spokesperson Jeff Monford said Jan. 9.

This extreme weather event is a rapidly evolving situation, SCE said in a late Jan. 8 statement. "While the most severe winds have started to abate, this weather is expected to continue through the early part of the weekend," SCE said. "Given the unsafe conditions for electric power restorations, customers may experience several days of outages."

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power had restored power to 202,406 customers by 7 am Jan. 9, as 95,203 customers remained without power.

"High winds and fire conditions continue to present hazards for our crews and can affect response times and restoration efforts," LADWP said in a Jan. 8 statement.

San Diego Gas & Electric had 7,596 customers effected by the power shutoffs, with an additional 70,505 customers that could be affected as of late Jan. 8, according to the utility.

However, the improved conditions in some areas allowed SDG&E to mobilize its field workforce to begin patrolling power lines and equipment impacted by PSPS in order to restore power to customers in certain communities, the utility said in a Jan. 9 statement.

"Patrolling and inspecting power lines are the first steps in the restoration process after a PSPS," SDG&E said. "Although inspections are underway, it can be difficult to predict how long an inspection may take, given the varied length of each power line, the terrain and whether aerial inspections are required. If damage is found, repairs must be made before power can be restored safely."

Due to the weather outlook throughout the week, SDG&E continued to urge preparedness for power outages as a stronger wave of Santa Ana winds enter San Diego the evening of Jan. 9, which could delay further patrols and result in additional PSPS outages.

Extremely critical fire weather area

It has been a dry start to winter causing the moderate drought to expand across Southern California, according to the US Drought Monitor.

"The Santa Ana winds during early January are likely to exacerbate the worsening drought conditions," the US Drought Monitor said in its weekly summary.

The US National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center has issued a Critical Risk of fire weather over parts of Southern California. Winds of 20 to 40 mph, with stronger winds in the terrain, low relative humidity, and dry fuels have contributed to the dangerous conditions.

Several fires have ignited since Jan. 7 and have burned a combined 29,053 acres as of around 1 pm Jan. 9, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The two largest fires remain 0% contained.

• Palisades Fire: started Jan. 7, 17,234 acres burned
• Eaton Fire: started Jan. 7, 10,600 acres burned
• Hurst Fire: started Jan. 7, 671 acres burned
• Lidia Fire: started Jan, 8, 348 acres burned
• Sunset Fire: started Jan. 8, 43 acres burned

"We continue to support the firefighting response and are working alongside [Los Angeles Fire Department] and CALFIRE to supply water," LADWP said Jan. 9. "Last night, LAFD used LADWP's Hollywood Reservoir to support aerial firefighting to quickly knock down the Sunset Fire."