Batteries are helping California make up for lost hydro power

As California wild fires and drought leaves the state without hydroelectric power, large-scale batteries are picking up the slack. — Getty Images/AFP

Big batteries plugged into California’s grid have helped make up for some, but not all, of the hydroelectric power the state has lost to the ongoing drought, according to a report Monday.

With California reservoirs running low, hydropower production in June was 670 megawatts lower than a year earlier, according to the report from the California Independent System Operator, which runs most of the state’s electrical grid.