If current population and load is straining their power grid because it's hot they have some serious infrastructure to implement before 2035 rolls around. I'm sure it's not lost on anyone, just... the timing on the two articles is noteworthy.
California does have serious infrastructure issues, mostly due to deliberate lack of maintenance on the part f the commercial operators trying to squeeze every dollar of profit out of their ageing infrastructure. There’s an entire distribution grid that needs to be replaced before it literally falls apart.
California has had problematic energy supply since the ‘80s. The problems have been getting steadily worse due to lack of maintenance, lack of upgrades, heat waves getting longer and more numerous, more frequent droughts, and poor water resource management.
There are a lot of people pushing this article on every social network. It’s a rude awakening to see how many people just take the headline and run with it before they spend any time considering the claims in the context of reality.
Maybe slightly. Britannica says (https://www.britannica.com/topic/coal-utilization-122944/Coa...) that most power plants limit steam temperature to 1000 F (540 C, 813 K). The efficiency difference when ambient goes from 300K to 310 K matters... a little.
I think it's more a case of "A grid that powers a lot of peoples' air conditioners is going to struggle when it gets hot". That is, the issue is demand, not supply.