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ISO declares Stage 2 emergency, outages expected

The California Independent System Operator -- which controls roughly 80% of the state's power grid through Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas and Electric Company and San Diego Gas & Electric -- has issued a Stage 2 emergency, meaning power outages are imminent.

Rolling blackouts will occur if the California Independent System Operator moves to a Stage 3 emergency.

California ISO asks the individual utilities to shed power pro-rata to balance the state grid and then the power companies will follow their own protocols in deciding which neighborhoods will lose power and when, according to the state agency.

Find out if your block could lose power at SCE.com

IID is not a member of CAISO and is not obligated to follow its rotating outage orders, according to the utility, which provides water and electricity to the Imperial Valley and power to the eastern part of the Coachella Valley.

Residents and busiensses are strongly encouraged to conserve power..

In order to save as much energy as possible, consumers are urged to shift their use to morning and nighttime hours and avoid using appliances and air conditioning in the late afternoon and evening hours. Late in the day, temperatures remain high but solar production falls as the sunsets.

Tips for conserving energy include:
-- set air conditioning thermostats to 78 degrees;
-- defer use of major appliances;
-- turn off unnecessary lights;
-- unplug unused electrical devices;
-- close blinds and drapes;
-- rely on fans when possible; and
-- limit time the refrigerator door is open.

Consumers can also pre-cool their homes during earlier hours, when they can also charge electric vehicles, medical equipment, mobile devices and laptops and run major appliances. Pool pumps can be set to run in the early morning or late at night.

More conservation tips, along with safety measures to be taken in the event of outages, can be found at flexalert.org.

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Jesus Reyes

City News Service

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