Conserve Energy Use Today; Flex Alert Issued For Manhattan Beach

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — Due to an expected higher-than-normal electricity use today, the California Independent System Operator (ISO) has issued a statewide Flex Alert, a call for voluntary electricity conservation, from 3-10 p.m. today.

Heat advisories continue to blanket the Southern California coast and parts of the Northern California Bay Area region, possibly going as high as 15-25 degrees above normal for this time of the year today and tomorrow.

Wildfires also are a concern to the reliability of the grid, as red flag warnings are in effect for much of Northern California through Friday morning. Fire can cause outages on transmission lines delivering electricity to homes and businesses. Currently no wildfires are directly threatening high-voltage lines, and the ISO is monitoring developments closely and coordinating with fire strike teams throughout the state.

The Flex Alert is being called to help with capacity gaps in the system, and is unrelated to the Public Safety Power Shutoffs, the de-energization of transmission lines ordered by utilities to mitigate localized wildfire risk. Those shutoffs, implemented by power providers, are currently having no effect on the bulk electric system.

Consumers are urged to conserve electricity, especially during the late afternoon and early evening, when the grid is most stressed due to higher demand and solar energy production falling.

Conservation Tips

• Before 3 p.m., “pre-cool” buildings by setting air conditioning thermostats lower than usual; also, charge electronic devices and electric vehicles; and run dishwashers, washers and dryers and other major appliances.
• After 3 p.m., set thermostat at 78° or higher
• Cool with fans and draw drapes
• Turn off unnecessary lights and appliances
• Use major appliances in morning or late evening