Suisun City Conserve Energy And Prepare For Rotating Power Outages

Press release from the City of Suisun City:

August 18, 2020

Pacific Gas and Electric Company urges its customers to conserve energy to help prevent the need for rotating outages as meteorologists forecast the heatwave to get even hotter and continue through Thursday (Aug. 20).

On Monday (Aug. 17), PG&E and other California utilities informed customers of potential outages due to high demand driven by the continued heatwave. Customers across the state responded to the call to conserve power, helping to avert the need for rotating outages.

Conservation is critical to help reduce the need for the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) to direct the state’s utilities, including PG&E, to implement rotating outages in order to reduce load. With the weather forecasted to be even hotter, PG&E urges customers to be prepared for power outages.

Separate from the impact on rotating outages, conservation is also the best way to prevent stress and strain on the local power grid, helping to reduce other heat-caused power outages.

PG&E Tips to Save Energy and Reduce Usage

PG&E strongly urges all customers to conserve energy through next Wednesday.

• Raise the thermostat: Cool homes and use air conditioners more during morning hours. Set the thermostat to 78 degrees when at home during the rest of the day, health permitting. Turn it up to 85 degrees or turn it off when not at home.
• Use a ceiling fan: Turn on a ceiling fan when using the air conditioner, which will allow the thermostat to be raised about 4 degrees to save on cooling costs with no reduction in comfort. Turn off fans and lights when you leave the room.
• Cover windows: Use shade coverings and awnings so the air conditioner won’t have to work as hard to cool the home.
• Avoid using the oven: Instead, cook on the stove, use a microwave or grill outside.
• Limit the opening of refrigerators, which are major users of electricity in most homes. The average refrigerator is opened 33 times a day.
• Clean clothes and dishes early: Use large energy-consuming appliances like washing machines and dishwashers earlier in the day or late at night after 10:00 pm.

Resources

• Read the Full PG&E Press Release (118.3 KiB, 0 hits)
• About Suisun City Cooling Center
• About Flex Alerts

This press release was produced by the City of Suisun City. The views expressed here are the author’s own.