As boiling temperatures consume the West Coast, officials are calling on Californians to reduce power usage during peak consumption hours to alleviate the severity of a looming energy crunch.
Residents of the state are being asked to avoid excess energy use between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. local time under what is known as a “Flex Alert,” until at least Thursday. Official guidelines call for residents to pre-cool residences to 72 degrees Fahrenheit in the morning and afternoon, and then raise thermostats to 78 degrees Fahrenheit in the evening. Individuals are advised against charging electric vehicles or large appliances.
However, the problem may worsen in the days to come, it seems. According to the California Independent System Operator, the utility company which provides 80% of the state’s power, “more Flex Alerts are likely to be issued through the holiday weekend, as excessive heat is forecast to blanket most of California.”
Meanwhile, Californians continue to bake amid record-high temperatures. The state has struggled to manage matters as wildfires have ravaged large portions of the state’s forests. On Wednesday, Los Angeles County Fire Department released footage showing a number of small fire tornadoes breaking out in the area.
Nonetheless, officials are “monitoring for any potential energy supply shortfalls, and changes in conditions, such as wildfires or generation or transmission outages, that would impact supplies or the grid," they wrote in a statement.
On Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency in an effort to mitigate the problem, warning reporters at a news conference that officials are “anticipating this extreme heat to be a length in duration the likes of which we haven't experienced in some time.”
The US West Coast is no stranger to scorching temperatures. In 2021, the region experienced a severe heat wave that saw various cooling centers emerge across several states; in fact, researchers recently determined that the melting temps ranked "among the most extreme events ever recorded globally."