California made it through another summer without a Flex Alert. Thank batteries, experts say

California hasn’t issued an emergency plea for the public to conserve energy, known as a Flex Alert, since 2022.

Experts credit much of the progress to a surge in battery energy storage systems in recent years.

Battery storage in California has grown more than 3,000% since 2020.

For decades, rolling blackouts and urgent calls for energy conservation were part of life in California — a reluctant summer ritual almost as reliable as the heat waves that drove them. But the state has undergone a quiet shift in recent years, and the California Independent System Operator hasn’t issued a single one of those emergency pleas, known as Flex Alerts, since 2022.

Experts and officials say the Golden State has reached a turning point, reflecting years of investment in making its electrical grid stro