CAISO: Californians Under Flex Alert Again Friday Night

SAN FRANCISCO, CA —Though rotating power outages threatened for Thursday night did not come to fruition, Californians remain under a Flex Alert from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. tonight, and they are urged to voluntarily conserve energy by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and California Independent System Operator (CAISO), which runs the energy grid.

Due to the extreme heat, CAISO had issued a grid warning at mid-afternoon Thursday and PG&E had reached out to public safety partners and about 121,000 customers informing them that rotating outages were possible. The extreme heat affecting much of the state, during which air conditioning use soars, had left questions about the stability of the grid.

However, on Thursday night, PG&E announced that rotating power outages were not needed to maintain electric grid stability during the extreme heat that affected much of the state, and that the grid had adequate power supply to meet consumer demand.

Officials said electricity conservation by Californians statewide in response to CAISO's Flex Alert, had ensured that supply did not exceed demand.

Once again, Friday, PG&E is urging Californians to take several energy-saving measures during the day, including:

• 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.

During Friday night's Flex Alert between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., Californians are urged 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.

Consumers are asked to visit PG&E's website for more information about why supply-related rotating outages might happen.