V._Grid_Reliability_&_Electrification_Explainer.pdf
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- Attached to
- Regionally Integrated Climate Action Planning Support (RICAPS) Climate Collaborative Technical Assistance
- Solicitation number
- 2026-RFP-00556
- Issued by
- San Mateo County, California
About this file
This is an educational explainer document created by the County of San Mateo's Sustainability Department addressing grid reliability and building electrification, designed as a communication tool for public audiences, elected officials, and city staff. The document addresses three primary questions: what causes power outages, whether building and vehicle electrification will cause more outages, and what actions local governments should take to meet climate goals while maintaining grid resilience. The explainer serves as a resource for the Regionally Integrated Climate Action Planning Support (RICAPS) Climate Collaborative Technical Assistance initiative, which provides support to San Mateo County and its 20 incorporated cities across 744 square miles and approximately 800,000 residents.
The document clarifies common misconceptions about grid functionality and power outage causation, presenting data indicating that most power outages result from company-initiated safety shutoffs and physical disturbances rather than insufficient electrical supply. The explainer emphasizes that grid expansion plans are underway by state agencies and utilities to accommodate new electrical loads from vehicle and building electrification, and that emerging technologies such as smart panels and vehicle-to-home systems will enhance grid resilience. For local governments, the document recommends adopting electrification policies to facilitate state planning, preparing for extended timelines to upgrade distribution infrastructure, and implementing resilience strategies—particularly in coastal communities—through backup batteries, solar installations, and vehicle-to-home charging capabilities. The resource was prepared by the County's Sustainability Department, which manages climate protection and resilience programs with approximately 35 staff members across multiple service areas.
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Building Electrification & the Electric Grid Explained
November 2024
Why this Explainer?
Major Question: Will building and vehicle decarbonization policies be the cause of more power outages?
Why this Explainer?
Provide Information:
What is the grid and how does it work?
Investigate perception:
electrification increases grid instability
Key Questions Addressed in the Explainer
1. What causes power outages?
2. Will building and vehicle electrification cause more power outages?
3. What should local governments do to meet climate goals while keeping the grid resilient?
This explainer can be used as a communication tool for:
- Public
- Elected officials
- City staff
1. What Causes Power Outages?
Key Takeaways
• Most power outages are caused by company-initiated safety shutoffs or physical disturbances to the local grid such as tree limbs or animal disturbance.
• Power outages caused by too much electricity demand are rare – occurring only once since 2001.
Source(s): CAISO; Scientific American; PG&E; E3; CPUC; NRDC; 2023 IEPR (CEC); Department of Energy; State of California Legislature
2022 Power outages in San Mateo County
Source: 2022 CPUC Annual Electric Reliability Report; Tables 1 & 5, as adapted by the County of San Mateo
• If it feels like short power outages have been getting more frequent, they have:
self-initiated outages by PG&E have been on the rise but wildfire ignition rates have gone down.
• Media sources have documented impacts of extreme weather events (e.g. atmospheric river aftermath) followed by multi-day outages in Montara and Half Moon Bay. These longer outages happen -- but are rare and concentrated in less urban areas.
Power outages in San Mateo County
• Most PSPS potential outage areas are not urban areas of San Mateo County
• More PSPS events in Coastside, Unincorporated areas.
Source: PG&E 2023 PSPS Planning map
Power outages may *seem* like they work like this:
MISPERCEPTION: The grid functions like a battery, and supply is assured if household demand remains low.
MISPERCEPTION: With more household demand, that "battery" is depleted, directly leading to blackouts.
When actually they work like this:
Bulk System Failures: Only once since 2001 [15 min-several hours]
Distribution System Failures: Thousands of company initiated, distribution system outages since 2001 (PSPS; maintenance etc.)
Source(s): PG&E & E3 March and April RICAPS Presentations; PG&E Outage Data
Transmission System Failure: Rare, but disruptive in scale.
Limited transmission capacity= bottleneck for new large renewable projects
And like this:
Most PG&E distribution outages were company-initiated
Source(s): PG&E & E3 March and April RICAPS Presentations (2021 distribution outages by cause) ; PG&E Outage Data as adapted by County of San Mateo
2. Will building and vehicle electrification cause more outages?
Takeaways
• Grid expansion plans are underway by State agencies and utilities to serve new loads from electric vehicles and electric appliances in buildings
• New technologies like smart panels & vehicle-to-home systems will make electrification easier and improve grid resilience
• Local electrification efforts are not expected to overwhelm the grid
Source(s): CAISO; PG&E; E3; CPUC; NRDC; 2023 IEPR (CEC); Department of Energy; State of California Legislature
State & regional agencies pla nning for electrification
Source(s): 2023 IEPR, California Energy Commission
Questions?
3. What should local governments do?
Meeting climate goals while keeping the grid resilient
Takeaways
• Local governments that pass electrification policies make it easier for the State to plan for future electrical demand
• Local governments should prepare for lengthy timelines to upgrade parts of the distribution grid to connect new policy-driven local loads
Source(s): CAISO; PG&E; E3; CPUC; NRDC; 2023 IEPR (CEC); Department of Energy; State of California Legislature
Promoting Resilience & Preparing for Upcoming
BAAQMD
Rules
• Especially Coastside communities: resilience approach to electrification (e.g. backup batteries + solar, V2H Charging)
• Requirements for 2-way heating and cooling as more communities install AC (more efficient)
• Use policy targets through CAAPs to kick off local distribution upgrades with PG&E, which could be a bottleneck for local electrification
Source: PG&E May 2023 RICAPS presentation
Thank you!
For more information, please reach out to Avana Andrade at aandrade@smcgov.org
| Slide 1 |
| Slide 2: Why this Explainer? |
| Slide 3: Why this Explainer? |
| Slide 4: Key Questions Addressed in the Explainer |
| Slide 5: What Causes Power Outages? |
| Slide 6: Key Takeaways |
| Slide 7: 2022 Power outages in San Mateo County |
| Slide 8: Power outages in San Mateo County |
| Slide 9: Power outages may *seem* like they work like this: |
| Slide 10: When actually they work like this: |
| Slide 11: And like this: |
| Slide 12: Most PG&E distribution outages were company- initiated |
| Slide 13: 2. Will building and vehicle electrification cause more outages? |
| Slide 14: Key Takeaways |
| Slide 15: State & regional agencies planning for electrification |
| Slide 16: Questions? |
| Slide 17: 3. What should local governments do? Meeting climate goals while keeping the grid resilient |
| Slide 18: Key Takeaways |
| Slide 19: Promoting Resilience & Preparing for Upcoming BAAQMD Rules |
| Slide 20 |
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