Home»All Photographs»USA»2015»11 - Visit to California ISO

The California Independent Systems Operator is a quasi-govt/private entity that manages the electric power grid in California. Forecasters generate a plan for the next day's power generation and distribution, taking into account weather and expected events (such as sports and holidays) which can affect both supply and demand. These factors are input in granularity as fine as minutes to a complex computer system.
Very experienced and trained operators monitor that sophisticated computer system which automatically propagates and adjusts the power being generated or transmitted into the CA grid by various providers within and outside California. Most of the time, things are calm and they seem fairly relaxed if not casual. However if any anomaly occurs, the large array of monitors allow them to quickly absorb the events as they occur and take control, preventing the situation from getting worse and of course getting things back on track as fast and safely as possible.
We visited and learned a lot - especially with the new challenges that renewable power generation: wind and solar, create! These sources are great for reduce the dependence on fossil fuels but instead of being on-demand, they are much more variable in their output.