California Power
A little world of electricity. Powered by real California data.
The grid, a few minutes ago
Behind the little grid
This is an independent project by Rob Littlefield, using public data from California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the organization that balances most of California’s electricity grid. This project is independent of the grid operator.
The operator’s grid serves roughly 80% of California’s electricity demand. This scene shows that grid, rather than every generator or electricity customer in the state.
The grid operator publishes five-minute average readings. We check about once a minute and use the latest common, completed supply and demand interval. “Measured” is the reporting time; “fetched” is when we retrieved it. After 20 minutes, readings are marked Delayed. If a feed fails, the last valid reading stays visible with a delay label. Without valid data, the scene is marked Unavailable.
Waiting for the first measurement.
GW means gigawatts: 1 GW is 1,000 megawatts (MW), or one billion watts. It measures how fast electricity is being used or produced. The total shows three decimal places, so 0.001 GW means 1 MW. Extra digits show the published reading more precisely; they do not make it a second-by-second meter.
When a new measurement arrives, numbers briefly animate between the old and new readings under an “Updating” label. They stay still between reports. Reduced-motion settings show the new reading immediately.
Hydro combines Small hydro and Large Hydro. Other sources includes geothermal, biomass, biogas, coal, the literal Other category, and any additional nonaggregate fuel category. Open its illustration to see every component. Hybrid solar, wind and batteries are already included in their respective fuel series; we never add hybrid or renewable totals again. Imports have unspecified fuel origins.
Battery and grid-exchange amounts are shown as positive magnitudes: “Charging” means power flows into the battery, “Discharging” means it flows to the grid, and “Exports” means power leaves for neighboring grids. Within ±50 MW the battery is shown as idle. Generation readings below zero, including individual Other components, display as zero and send no sparks. Original signed readings remain in the data feed; displayed generation values are floored at zero, not made positive.
The consumption figure is the grid operator’s published demand. It excludes charging battery storage and dispatchable pump loads. Differences in telemetry and reporting mean fuel output, storage, imports and demand may not reconcile. We do not invent a balancing source or alter demand.
The three “Est.” numbers are illustrative consumption estimates, not separately metered live readings. We multiply the current grid total by California’s 2024 annual electricity-sales shares: residential for Homes, commercial for Business, and industrial plus transportation for Other. Statewide annual patterns differ from this grid’s coverage and from demand at a particular hour, so these are a rough guide. The shares come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Table 8. Rounded estimates add to the total at two-decimal precision. Destination spark flows follow these same estimates.
More power means more sparks per stretch of wire. All sparks travel at the same steady speed; density follows each source’s reported power and each destination’s estimated consumption. Tiny positive flows keep one spark visible. A shared display limit keeps busy scenes readable, so sparks are a visual guide rather than an exact unit of power.
Source popovers list major California facilities and link to their published power-capacity ratings. These examples are not a current production ranking or a claim that a facility is contributing now. The live feed reports categories, not individual plant output. Imports have no identified generating plants; California’s commercial nuclear generation comes from one station, Diablo Canyon.
Replay uses only recorded, aligned readings from the available day, looping in 30 seconds. Gaps stay gaps; the slider moves between real observations. Live collection continues in the background. At midnight a previous-day reading may remain visible until the new day has completed intervals; it is dated and replay is labeled accordingly.
Public informational data, subject to revision. Not for billing or operational planning. See the grid operator’s definitions ↗
This animated grid needs JavaScript. Visit Official grid measurements for current electricity data.