How Texas’ Freeze Could Spoil California’s Summer

California’s hydropower reserves are drying up in the most literal sense. This summer, however, the fuel that normally stands in for water is also running lower than usual.

Natural gas typically fulfills two roles for California’s power grid during a hot, dry summer. First, it fills in the gap left by depleted hydropower (see this). Second, it handles much of the state’s surge in electricity demand during the early evening, when solar power fades; especially important if that surge is powering a lot of air-conditioning (see this).