Weather strains power grid
Above- normal temperatures may linger through Friday evening
With unseasonably warm weather again baking California, officials are urging residents to conserve energy to reduce strain on the state’s electrical system.
The California Independent System Operator, which runs the electric grid for most of the state, issued a statewide f lex alert, calling on Californians to cut back their energy consumption from 3 to 10 p. m. Thursday.
“With high temperatures in the forecast, the power grid operator predicts an increase in electricity demand, primarily from air conditioning use,” officials wrote in a statement. “The temperatures are above normal for this time of year, creating an anticipated shortage in energy supply in the late afternoon hours through the evening.”
Conservation is particularly important during that period, officials said, because that’s when the grid is socked with the one- two punch of increased demand and shrinking solar energy production.
Officials asked consumers to set thermostats at 78 degrees or higher during the f lex alert, and to turn off unnecessary lights and not use major appliances such as dishwashers or laundry machines until after 10 p. m.
California is in the midst of a heat wave that has brought record- breaking temperatures to some areas. The hot spell, which has boosted the mercury 10 to 20 degrees above normal across a swath of the state, is expected to linger through Friday evening.
Given the combination of heat, parched vegetation and fall winds, forecasters are warning that conditions are ripe for wildfires.
The National Weather Service has issued a f ire weather watch covering the Santa Clarita Valley, Los Angeles and Ventura county mountains, mountains and coastal slopes of the San Bernardino and Santa Ana ranges, as well as areas of the Inland Empire below the Cajon Pass.
A red f lag warning — indicating critical f ire weather conditions — is also in place across much of Northern California through Friday morning. The region could see winds of 15 to 25 mph, with gusts up to 40 mph.
In light of the forecast and f ire danger, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. began turning off power to more than 50,000 Northern California customers Wednesday evening.
The shutoffs affected portions of nearly two dozen counties, mostly in the Sierras and San Francisco Bay Area, and could last 48 hours, the utility said.
A second shutoff for about 700 customers was expected Thursday afternoon in far northern counties as winds were expected to arrive there.
Preemptive electricity cuts are a strategy aimed at preventing f ires from being started by power lines that have been damaged or knocked down amid high winds.
PG& E equipment sparked several massive blazes that destroyed tens of thousands of homes and killed more than 100 people since 2017.
“Once the [ wind] subsides on Friday morning, PG& E will patrol and inspect the de- energized lines to ensure they were not damaged during the wind event and repair any damage found,” utility officials wrote in a statement. “PG& E will then safely restore power in stages and as quickly as possible, with the goal of restoring power to nearly all customers within 12 daylight hours after severe weather has passed.”