Flex Alert: Rolling Blackouts Possible Through Wednesday

LOS ANGELES, CA — Managers of California's power grid issued a statewide Flex Alert on Sunday and warned residents statewide that rolling blackouts are possible through Wednesday.

Residents across the state sweltered in a record-breaking heat wave cooking much of the West Coast. The heat wave is expected to continue through the week, straining the electric grid as residents and businesses crank up the air conditioning. Authorities implored residents conserve energy over the next several days. On Sunday, thousands of customers from Los Angeles to San Francisco lost power. The day was expected to be one of the cooler days during the heatwave but longstanding heat records fell in places such as Lancaster, where temperatures reached 111 degrees.

The Flex Alerts are in effect from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. each day.

The California Lottery district also closed its offices early, at 3 p.m. Monday and will continue to close at 3 p.m. each day through Wednesday amid excessive heat warnings and a statewide need to reduce energy during peak hours.

The California Independent System Operator said consumers should be prepared for likely rolling outages during the late afternoons and early evenings through Wednesday because there is not a sufficient amount of energy to meet the high amounts of demand during the heat wave.

Consumers were urged to help by shifting energy use to morning and nighttime hours and conserving as much energy as possible during the late afternoon and evening hours.

Between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m., the ISO was urging consumers to take the following steps:

Set air conditioning thermostats to 78 degrees, if health permits;

• Defer use of major appliances;
• Turn off unnecessary lights;
• Unplug unused electrical devices;
• Close blinds and drapes;
• Use fans when possible;
• Limit time refrigerator door is open.

Consumers were also advised to take the following steps before 3 p.m.:

Pre-cool homes, or lower air conditioning thermostats to 72 degrees;

• Charge electric vehicles;
• Charge mobile devices and laptops'
• Run dishwashers, washing machines and other major appliances if necessary;
• Set pool pumps to run in the early morning or late at night.

The state initiated some rolling blackouts Friday for the first time since 2001 and again on Saturday, with most lasting no longer than 20 minutes.

The emergency was lifted shortly before 10 p.m., and power was restored.

On Saturday, high temperatures increased electricity demand while one power plant was down and wind power fell short, prompting a Stage 3 Electrical Emergency that lasted 20 minutes. It was called at 6:28 p.m., making rolling outages imminent or in progress, according to the California Independent System Operator.

"The load was ordered back online 20 minutes later at 6:48 p.m., as wind resources increased," the ISO explained.

"Extreme heat throughout the West has increased electricity usage, causing a strain on the power grid. All available resources are needed to meet the growing demand," the ISO said.

The city of Anaheim explained the current status to its residents on Twitter, saying, "The Stage 3 emergency event has been canceled and we are back to a Stage 2. This means that rotating outages are no longer imminent for the time being. If conditions change, we could move back into Stage 3, so we encourage voluntary electricity reduction tonight."

City News Service contributed to this report.