State issues Flex Alert urging Californians to conserve energy due to heat wave

As temperatures soared across the state, California’s power grid manager issued a Flex Alert on Wednesday urging residents to voluntarily conserve as much electricity as possible from 4 to 9 p.m.

During that time, residents are asked to put their thermostat at 78 degrees or higher and avoid charging electric vehicles or using major appliances.

Additional Flex Alerts are possible through the holiday weekend.

The California Independent System Operator, a nonprofit organization which oversees the state’s power grid, aims to balance the state’s demand for electricity with its supply. On Tuesday, ISO announced they were expecting extreme heat in what’s predicted to be the most intense heat wave so far this year.

Temperatures in Southern California are expected to be 10-18 degrees warmer than normal through Sept. 6, the organization said in a news release.

Record heat is expected in the Los Angeles valley where maximum temperatures will reach between 102 -112 degrees. At the beaches, temperatures will likely reach above 80 degrees, and inland coastal cities could hit the lower 90s, according to National Weather Service forecasters.

In Orange County, Wednesday and Thursday are expected to have little day to day change, with the county’s inland cities in the mid 90s to 100 degrees and coastal areas slightly cooler in the mid 80s. Sunday and Monday are expected to hit peak maximum temperatures at 100-104 degrees for inland areas and the beach cities seeing upper 80 – low 90s.

Temperatures in the Inland Empire likely will be soar above 100, with an even warmer day Thursday hitting 104-112 degrees in some areas. There will be little day to day temperature change through next Monday.

The High Desert, which includes areas like Apple Valley, Hesperia and Victorville, will also have see little day to day change through early next week, with high temperatures hovering around 103-108.

Mountains in San Bernardino and Riverside counties will see temperatures around the mid-80s and possibly low 90s.

While extreme heat is often dry, this heat wave will also bring increasing monsoonal moisture, National Weather Service meteorologist Elizabeth Schenk said.

“It’s going to feel pretty humid out there,” Schenk said.

Excessive heat may stay through next Tuesday, before a gradual cooling down late next week.

A heat wave is making its way to California this week.
 
Prepare for extreme temperatures by staying cool and taking proper precautions.

Visit https://t.co/j4p2wm6Qa3 to sign up for notifications and learn more. pic.twitter.com/LUXydjrsQD

— Office of the Governor of California (@CAgovernor) August 31, 2022

Energy providers were told to avoid scheduled maintenance during peak hours so all transmission lines would be service. The peak load for electricity is projected to exceed 48,000 megawatts (MW) on Monday, the highest so far this year. In 2021, the peak load reached only 43,982 MW, according to data from ISO. Since 1998, the highest peak load ever reached was just above 50,000 MW.