California urges power conservation amid heat wave
LOS ANGELES >> California’s power grid operator called for voluntary energy conservation on Thursday as the state sweltered under a heat wave that has blanketed the West and brought dangerously high temperatures to many areas.
The California Independent System Operator issued a Flex Alert for Thursday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., urging people to set their thermostats to 78 degrees or higher and avoid using washers, dishwashers and other major appliances.
While the electrical supply was tight, CEO Elliot Mainzer said actual blackouts were unlikely. But he added that could change as temperatures spiked and urged people to heed the Flex Alert.
“Californians have stepped up many times before when asked to pitch in and I’m confident they will do so,” Mainzer said.
During another heat spell last August, the state saw two days of rotating power outages that affected more than 200,000 people. They were the first such blackouts since 2001.
Power officials said the electrical grid has seen upgrades in power storage and transmission since then, including adding about 3,500 megawatts of capacity — in general enough to power some 2.6 million homes. That includes 2,000 megawatts worth of battery storage that could be crucial when solar power generation tails off after dark.
Temperatures in the 80s and 90s were expected up and down the state, with triple-digit highs forecast in deserts, some mountains, non-coastal valley and inland areas, including the state’s agricultural Central Valley.
The National Weather Service has warned of “dangerously hot, potentially life-threatening temperatures” through Saturday in the San Joaquin Valley.
A heat advisory was issued through tonight for much of the San Francisco Bay Area and several counties announced they were opening cooling centers.
The heat was expected to ease only slightly heading into Sunday, the official first day of summer.