Brief:

California has asked its residents to continue refraining from  charging their electric vehicles. The state cited a dramatic shortage of electric power in the grid.  Some conservatives point to years of restrictions from environmentalists and the green movement as the cause of the power shortages.

Background:

Days after announcing that California would be phasing out all new gas powered vehicles, the state is pushing residents not to  charge electric vehicles, to turn down their AC and to avoid using their electrical appliances to prevent further failure from the state’s power grid.

“Consumers are urged to conserve power by setting thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, if health permits, avoiding use of major appliances and turning off unnecessary lights,” said a  spokesperson for the California Independent System Operator (ISO).

The  California Air Resources Board recently issued new rules requiring 35% of new vehicles to produce zero emissions by 2026 — a standard that they say will rise to a 68% benchmark by 2030 and a 100% level by 2035.

According to data from the Department of Energy, charging an electric vehicle requires just over twice as much energy as a refrigerator annually. The Daily Wire’s Ben Zeisloft recently cited a warning from Cornell University’s College of Engineering that a rushed transition to electric vehicles will overwhelm the nation’s grids barring robust upgrades.