As Calif. Power Grid Operators Warn of Blackouts, Enviros Celebrate Closing of Last Nuclear Plant

California will have its first test of plans to keep the lights on this summer following the shutdown of the key Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility...

With record-setting heat and air conditioning demand expected in Southern California, the state's power grid operator issued a so-called "flex alert," urging consumers to conserve energy to help prevent rotating power outages - which could occur regardless.

Electricity demand is expected to rise during the unseasonable heatwave on Monday and Tuesday, with forecast system-wide use expected to top 45,000 megawatts ... That compares with a peak demand of 47,358 MW last year and the all-time high of 50,270 MW set in July 2006.

...All customers, including homes, hospitals, oil refineries and airports are at risk of losing power at some point this summer because a majority of electric generating stations in California use gas as their primary fuel. In April, millions of electric customers in Southern California were warned they could suffer power outages on up to 14 days this summer due to the closure.

California's last nuclear power plant will close by 2025 under an accord announced Tuesday...

...The facility, which sits along a bluff on California's central coast, supplies 9 percent of the state's power.

...California already has banned construction of new facilities until the federal government finds a permanent disposal site for radioactive waste.