A small plane taking off July 3 from McClellan-Palomar airport in the San Diego, California, area clipped two high-voltage transmission lines before crashing. In addition, approximately 1900 MW of generation in Southern California tripped offline overnight due to issues apparently unrelated to the plane crash. However, the loss of transmission capacity and generation, coupled with higher demand Tuesday due to increasing temperatures, was said to possibly result in reduced energy reserves July 3, not just in San Diego but potentially statewide.

The California Independent System Operator Corporation urged all Californians to conserve power during peak hours. At the time of this release, there was no estimated time of return for the transmission capacity. Reducing emand through voluntary conservation is the prudent thing to do, especially with a significant heat ave due in California this week, according to the California ISO.

The California ISO was predicting a peak demand of approximately 43,500 MW July 3, 42,600 MW yesterday and nearing 47,000 MW today. The all time record peak demand for the California ISO is 50,270 MW set on July 24 last year.