No Rotating Power Outages Needed Today: Electricity Conservation Helps Grid Stability

By: Pacific Gas and Electric Company via Business Wire

June 18, 2021 at 00:58 AM EDT

Need for Conservation Remains High

State’s Grid Operator Calls for Flex Alert from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced that rotating power outages were not needed today to maintain electric grid stability during the extreme heat that affected much of the state, because California’s grid had adequate power supply to meet consumer demand.

After the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) issued a Grid Warning mid-afternoon, PG&E reached out to public safety partners across its service area and to about 121,000 customers telling them rotating outages were possible. The notification was intended to help those partners and customers begin to prepare.

Thanks to electricity conservation by Californians statewide in response to the CAISO’s Flex Alert, grid demand did not exceed supply despite the widespread triple-digit heat.

Hot weather is expected to continue across the state and the West for another few days. CAISO has called for another Flex Alert on Friday, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., asking Californians to voluntarily conserve energy.

Rotating outages are not Public Safety Power Shutoffs, which are conducted during specific high fire-threat conditions.

Visit www.pge.com/rotatingoutages for more information on how and why supply-related rotating outages might happen.

Energy conservation tips

Here are ways for customers to reduce energy use during the day:

Pre-cool your home or workspace by lowering your thermostat. Turn it off if you will be away from home.
Use a fan instead of air conditioning when possible.
Use major appliances, like your dishwasher or washer and dryer, early in the morning.
Charge your electronic devices before the late afternoon.
Set your pool pump to run overnight instead of during the day.
Keep your refrigerator full (with bottles of water if nothing else) and unplug your second refrigerator if you have one.

In addition, during the critical hours of 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, consumers are asked to:

Adjust your thermostat to 78 degrees or higher, after cooling your home to below-normal levels in the morning.
Don’t charge your electric vehicle until after 9 p.m.
Draw drapes and turn off unnecessary lighting.
Limit the opening of refrigerators, a major user of electricity in most homes. The average refrigerator is opened 33 times a day.
Keep refrigerator full (with bottles of water if nothing else) and unplug your second refrigerator if you have one.
Avoid using major appliances, such as your oven. Instead, cook on the stove, use a microwave or grill outside.

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG), is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.