Now that genius California lawmakers have mandated that all cars in the state must be electric by 2035, it seems like a good time to ask what, exactly, this is going to do to the state’s already fragile power grid.
In what will likely come as a surprise to lawmakers who we can almost guarantee didn’t think about this in advance, it turns out that electrifying all of the state’s vehicles could be “an immense burden” on the state’s grid, according to Bloomberg.
In fact, this past week’s executive order could drive up power demands in the state by as much as 9.5% over the next 10 years and 25% by 2035. This could be a “nightmare” scenario for a state where power is often so tight that rolling blackouts are ordered to prevent the system from collapsing during heat waves.
Additionally, if everyone were to plug in their vehicles at the same time, at night, the problem could be concentrated and even worse.