Thursday evening the University of California received notice from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office that California’s electrical grid may reach its capacity this afternoon (July 30, from 3–9 p.m.). Accordingly, UC has been asked to take all feasible actions to reduce campus electrical loads and maximize our own power generation during these critical hours.
UC Santa Cruz will contribute by configuring our system to maximize power generation from the cogeneration plant. That action, combined with power production from our new East Remote Parking Lot solar array, should ensure we can completely power our campus without further stressing the electrical grid.
We will not take any actions that might add risk to campus teaching or research operations. While we do not anticipate the loss of power to campus, a power outage can occur unexpectedly.
We also ask building occupants and residents to contribute to our efforts where possible by turning off lights, appliances, and equipment not in use during these hours.
The support UC is providing is much appreciated by the Governor’s Office and the California agencies involved with energy production. We hope that our efforts, combined with those by others, will be sufficient to avoid serious problems for California’s grid.
