Californians ask Thursday, Friday to save energy
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) – All Californians are being asked to conserve electricity Thursday night as record breaking heat hits the state.
The predicted temperatures even resulted in a Flex Alert for Thursday and Friday from the California Independent System Operator.
“And they are the ones who determine when and where saving energy helps to reduce the load on the grid,” said Megan McFarland of PG&E.
PG&E says having everyone save electricity on Thursday can have a huge impact on the likelihood of power outages.
“Conservation is a really important operational tool and can generate a thousand megawatts or more of electricity savings nationwide,” said McFarland. “That corresponds to the output of two large power plants or enough electricity to supply a million households.”
PG&E encourages its customers to use large appliances such as dishwashers or washing machines and dryers only in the early morning. It also means turning up the thermostats from 5pm and using house fans to just cool the rooms people are in.
“If you have a pool, you can set your pump to run overnight instead of during the day,” said McFarland. âPull out your second refrigerator if you have one. Any way to save energy will help California. ”
If the power goes out, the utility says it is ready to quickly bring the service back online.
âPG&E has plans in case there is an outage. We have crews ready to go in the event of an unplanned outage, âsaid McFarland.
And PG&E says that even small efforts can help you save.
âEven small things can help. So turning off the lights can kind of cool things down, set the tone and save energy, âsaid McFarland.
Another important way to save electricity is to close the blinds on the windows, as this will keep the interior of a house cool while the sun is shining.
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