The 750-megawatt hydroelectric plant at Lake Oroville in California went offline for the first time in its 54-year-history Thursday after the water level in the lake fell too low for it to operate, Politico reports.
The Edward Hyatt Powerplant, an underground hydroelectric power plant that’s part of the Oroville-Termalito Complex, automatically as the state’s second largest reservoir fell below 642 feet of water. The plant can’t produce power when the water level falls below 630 to 640 feet.
“DWR anticipated this moment, and the state has planned for its loss in both water and grid management,” state Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth said in a statement.
The shutdown will not threaten power supplies to California customers, although additional outages could put pressure on the grids power producers. California has already called for voluntary reduction in usage as the summer heat hits the region, and current usage was well below peak.
Lake Oroville is current at 24% capacity, roughly one-third of where it typically is in mid-summer.