Skip to main content

California Grid Operator Offers New Mobile App

Support Provided By
iphones-2-11-13-thumb-600x450-45186
Tracking those energy demand peaks | Photo: Juan Pablo Bustos/Flickr/Creative Commons License

 

Has this ever happened to you? You're stuck in traffic in your electric car, or enjoying a microbrew in your favorite semi-dive bar, and suddenly the question arises: how many megawatts of electrical power is California using right this second? With ISO Today, the new mobile app just released by the California Independent System Operator (CaISO), you no longer have to ask your fellow bar patrons what the day's Forecast Peak Demand might be. You can just pull out your phone and find out for yourself.

Okay, so perhaps this app is aimed at a relatively narrow target market: people who have an interest in tracking the basics of California's power grid day to day. Still, it's a pretty nifty tool, and the price is certainly right, at "free."

caiso2.png

With versions for iOS and Android environments, the app is pretty simple, with just four modes: current power status, renewables, a notices section, and a calendar of upcoming meetings, conferences, and events.

The supply and demand page charts actual and forecast demand against available resources, while the renewables graph offers a daily calculation of power coming into the grid from Solar, wind, geothermal, biogas and biomass, and small hydro. The calendaring section allows you to browse upcoming meetings and teleconferences, adding them to your phone's calendar if you wish.

According to CaISO, the app is compatible with iPhone 4 and above and Andoid version 2.2 and up, though the app seems to work just fine on ReWire's creaky old iPhone 3GS.

Support Provided By
Read More
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.
blue themed graphic including electric vehicles are charging stations, wind turbines and trees, 2023 in reference to year

A Look Back at Climate Solutions In 2023

The U.S. may have a long way to go in its decarbonization goals, but these stories show signs of progress in climate solutions.