Officials Warn Coachella Valley Residents to Conserve Energy

PALM DESERT, CA — As a record-breaking heatwave continued to drive high electricity demand throughout California, the Imperial Irrigation District warned customers of potential rolling blackouts beginning Sunday afternoon and urged customers to conserve power.

"Energy conservation is essential in helping reduce the possibility of widespread rotating outages and the number of people impacted. Understandably, it may be difficult to reduce energy use during the high temperatures and the ongoing pandemic. However, everyone is urged to do their part to cut back on energy use, if health and safety permits, during this critical time," IID officials said in a news release.

IID provides water and electricity to the Imperial Valley and power to the eastern part of the Coachella Valley.

On Thursday night, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an emergency proclamation suspending regulations to create more energy and reduce strain on the grid. Nonetheless California officials said residents may experience rolling blackouts across the state.

The district offered a series of tips for reducing energy consumption, including:

• turning off all unnecessary lights;
• setting thermostats at 78 degrees or higher when at home;
• using shades, blinds or drapes to block the sun from overheating the home;
• using floor or ceiling fans to cool off, and turning them off when leaving the room; and
• avoiding use of appliances like washers, dryers and dishwashers, pool pumps and some industrial equipment, between peak hours of 3 p.m. and 9 p.m.

The district said that the significant energy demands across the region had resulted in unexpected termination of contracts to import additional energy resources to the IID service area.

Officials warned that blackouts could take place between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. if energy demands exceed supply.

—The City News Service contributed to this report.