Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra has proposed giving away a couple of hours of electricity on the days that California has generated too much. It’s not a crazy idea. But it is an inadvertent admission that the current power system doesn’t make sense.
Solar power is booming in sunny California. On occasion, there’s more energy generated than can be used. Ideally, the excess should be stored to use later when the sun goes down. But limited battery storage capacity can’t take the heat, so the surplus produced in the early afternoon hours has to be exported. In some instances, California has had to pay other states to take its extra power so that it wouldn’t upset the grid.
Becerra believes the solution is to keep it in state and give it away.
