California Didn’t Tell Residents Not to Charge Their EVs
The Claim
California asked residents not to charge their electric vehicles.
News posted on
Emerging story
Heat waves sweeping the nation have led to power companies changing thermostats and officials pleading for decreased energy consumption. Responses to the urgency have varied and some social media users recently started spreading a rumor that California asked consumers not to charge their electric vehicles. Citing increased energy demand and decreased supply, users blamed liberalism or a weak “green energy power grid.”
Misbar’s Analysis
Amidst the very real power crisis, claims of California asking residents to not charge their cars were somewhat believable. However, our investigation proved that these claims are completely false.
The California ISO, California’s non-profit power grid manager, released a “Flex Alert” last week which asked that citizens be mindful of power usage and use electricity with impending shortages in mind. They specifically requested that users charge their electric vehicles so any possible power outages will not affect them, as these Flex Alerts are issued early so consumers have a chance to prepare.
The California ISO even updated consumers via Twitter, and the tweet specifically asks that residents charge their electric vehicles before any expected outages:
The California ISO went on to help residents with what to do during a Flex Alert as well:
At no time were any requests made not to charge electric vehicles, consumers were asked to charge during off-peak hours if they can to help avoid power outages.
The California ISO acknowledges that recent years are producing record climate effects and increasing power demand. Other states are experiencing outages as well, with the most notable being Texas. Outages caused by an unlikely snowstorm caused deaths by hypothermia and criticism of Texas’s private grid manager ERCOT. The California ISO is taking steps to avoid power grid failures.
