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<\/a><\/p>\nThe Flex Alert, called by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), was issued yesterday and will be in effect today from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. The grid operator is predicting an increase in electricity demand, primarily from air conditioning use.
\nThe grid operator is asking all Californians to reduce electricity use during a Flex Alert to prevent further emergency measures, including rotating power outages.
\nSaving Energy at Home
\nHere are ways Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) customers can cut their power use and help keep the lights (and air conditioning) on for everyone:
\n\u2022 Pre-cool your home or workspace. Lower your thermostat in the morning. As the temperature rises outside, raise your thermostat and circulate the pre-cooled air with a fan.
\n\u2022 Set your thermostat at 78 degrees or higher, health permitting: Every degree you lower the thermostat means your air conditioner must work even harder to keep your home cool.
\n\u2022 When it\u2019s cooler outside, bring the cool air in: If the outside air is cool in the night or early morning, open windows and doors and use fans to cool your home.
\n\u2022 Close your shades: Sunlight passing through windows heats your home and makes your air conditioner work harder. Block this heat by keeping blinds or drapes closed on the sunny side of your home.
\n\u2022 Cool down with a fan: Fans keep air circulating, allowing you to raise the thermostat a few degrees and stay just as comfortable while reducing your air-conditioning costs. \u2022 Charge your EVs outside peak hours. Along with using large appliances, remember to charge your electric vehicle in the morning or after 9 p.m.
\n\u2022 Clear the area around your AC unit: Your air-conditioning unit will operate more efficiently if it has plenty of room to breathe. The air conditioner’s outdoor unit, the condenser, needs to be able to circulate air without any interruption or obstruction. Also, dirty air filters make your air conditioner work harder to circulate air. By cleaning or replacing your filters monthly, you can improve energy efficiency and reduce costs.
\nSaving Energy at Your Office or Business
\nIf you\u2019re working in an office setting, CAISO recommends the following:
\n\u2022 Turn off any office equipment that is not currently in use. Alternately, look for sleep or power-saving modes in between uses during the day.
\n\u2022 Enable power management settings on all computers so that they go to sleep and turn off screens when not in use.
\n\u2022 Plug electronics such as coffeemakers and microwaves into power strips and switch them off when the day is done.
\n\u2022 As you leave the office, get in the habit of checking to make sure computers, printers\/copiers, and other office equipment is fully shut down. If possible, switch them off at the power strip to ensure they are no longer draining energy.
\nPG&E\u2019s Demand Response programs offer incentives for business owners and residential customers who curtail their energy use during times of peak demand. PG&E has several of these programs, totaling about 261,000 enrolled PG&E customers.
\nPG&E\u2019s website includes detailed information on these programs, which allow residential customers and business customers to save energy and money.
\nPG&E is prepared for the heat and, based on forecasts, doesn\u2019t anticipate issues meeting increased demand for power.
\nAlso, at this time, the grid operator has not indicated that it plans to call for rotating outages. PG&E does not project a need for a Public Safety Power Shutoff due to this weather, but the company\u2019s meteorology team will continuously monitor conditions.
\nPG&E also urges customers to stay safe during extreme heat. The company funds cooling centers throughout its service area to help customers escape the heat and cool off. To find a center near you click here or call 1-877-474-3266.
\nAbout PG&E
\nPacific 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
San Francisco, CA…With higher than normal temperatures forecast in some parts of California today, the state\u2019s power grid operator is asking residents statewide to voluntarily conserve electricity this afternoon and evening when the grid is most stressed due to higher demand and energy supplies are tighter. The Flex Alert, called by the California Independent System […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1599,"featured_media":109981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/pge_reg_logo-1-e1605337712504.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1599"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=125893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/109981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=125893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=125893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=125893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}