SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Amber Martinez loves working as a barista at Lestat's in the Normal Heights area, but dealing with the summer heat can be challenging.
"I don't know if there's anything I hate more in the world than hot weather," said Martinez.
To keep customers cool, Martinez relies on a window AC unit, a swamp cooler, and fans. Despite their best efforts to conserve energy, she said their options are limited.
"There isn't really much we can turn off because it's all food and drink related,"said Martinez.
She's grateful that the state hasn't had any flex alerts or power outages this summer.
"We haven't had any problems with electricity so far, fingers crossed, but it's only a matter of time," said Martinez.
However, it's not just luck. Despite the hot weather, California hasn't issued a flex alert since 2022, when eleven alerts were issued that summer.
Alerts are issued when the electricity demand exceeds capacity. People are asked to reduce their use to avoid the possibility of power outages.
Elliot Mainzer is the CEO and President of the California Independent System Operator. He says the state has invested in more storage capacity in the last two years.
"Since we reached our peak load in 2022, the state has added nearly 11,600 megawatts of resources," said Mainzer.
Those resources include a growing fleet of lithium-ion batteries.
"It's the largest fleet of lithium-ion batteries in North America anywhere in the world outside of China," Mainzer added.
Additionally, two consecutive wet winters have boosted hydroelectric generating capacity.
"We've also seen an increase in hydro generating capacity because we've had two wet winters, meaning our dams are full," said SDG&E communications manager Alex Welling.
But September and October are often the hottest months, and shorter days mean fewer hours of solar production.
"As the sun starts setting earlier, solar starts coming off that's where we rely on other renewables such as wind, and even our battery storage capabilities. So we charge up those batteries during the day, during the brightest parts of the day, and then we can dispatch those during those peak hours," said Welling.
Welling said customers also play a role.
"When it comes to avoiding Flex Alerts, or even just the possibility of rotating outages ... We've been making investments in our grid from substation upgrades to battery storage capabilities, but we really also have to rely on our customers to conserve energy during our peak hours of 4-9 PM," said Welling.
Martinez said it's all part of working and living in Southern California.
"This is kind of how it is every summer, and you just kind of have to roll with it," said Martinez.
