California's power grid handled its highest electricity demand in four years without emergency measures on September 9, 2026, when peak consumption reached 50,335 megawatts during extreme heat, according to the state.
The peak was about 3 percent below the all-time record of 52,061 megawatts set in September 2022. The state attributed the grid's stable performance to clean energy investments made since 2019, which added more than 39,000 megawatts of utility-scale renewable generation and more than 23,000 megawatts of battery storage to the grid.
As of the end of 2024, clean energy accounted for 67 percent of retail electricity sales in California. During the previous year, clean energy met 100 percent of the state's electricity needs for at least part of the day on 279 separate days.
Battery storage resources have grown substantially since 2019, increasing from fewer than 700 megawatts to more than 23,000 megawatts—a more than 3,100 percent increase. Batteries store solar power when it is plentiful and release it after sunset, reducing reliance on natural gas plants, according to the state.
California employed 552,300 workers across clean energy technologies as of 2025, nearly twice the number in Texas, the second-ranked state for clean energy employment, according to a 2025 report cited by the state.
The state strengthened coordination among grid operators and state agencies through a memorandum of understanding signed in December 2022 by the California Independent System Operator, the California Public Utilities Commission, and the California Energy Commission. It also established a Strategic Reliability Reserve in 2022 to provide backup resources during extreme heat and emergency conditions.