Good afternoon. My presentation is about why California asks people to shift electricity use toward the middle of the day.

Solar panels across the state produce the most power between about ten in the morning and three in the afternoon. During those hours there is often more power available than the state can use, and some of it is sold cheaply to other states.

The problem arrives at sunset. Solar output falls to nothing within about an hour, and that is the same hour when people come home, turn on lights, cook dinner and plug in their cars. Demand climbs at the exact moment supply drops.

To close that gap, the state depends on large batteries charged earlier in the day, and on prices that make electricity cost more between four and nine in the evening.

So the simplest thing a household can do is run the dishwasher and the laundry before four o'clock instead of after dinner.