Anonymous
Southern California Edison (SCE) is urging customers to conserve power today (August 17) through Wednesday to minimize possible power outages. SCE is asking everyone to help conserve power during this heatwave, particularly from 3:00 – 10:00 p.m., by turning your air conditioner up to at least 78 degrees Farenheit and turning off unnecessary appliances.
Over the weekend, the California Independent System Operator (ISO) declared a Stage 2 electrical emergency due to excessive heat driving up electricity use and putting a strain on the State’s electrical grid. A Stage 3 emergency occurs when the ISO is unable to meet minimum contingency electricity reserve requirements. During a Stage 3, the ISO can require electrical utilities to conserve power by turning off electrical services to customers, typically referred to as “rotating power outages.” Rotating power outages may occur at any time with no notice throughout the State, including Santa Barbara County. Such power outages may last anywhere between 1-2 hours.
As the West Coast faces an historic heatwave and energy shortages, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an emergency proclamation designed to free up energy capacity and reduce the need for temporary energy service disruptions. The proclamation temporarily allows some energy users and utilities to use backup energy sources to relieve pressure on the grid during peak times during the energy emergency.
To help relieve demand on the grid, SCE will be deploying back up generators to the Goleta substation today. They will be available to use Tuesday, Wednesday, and beyond depending on temperatures. The generators will only be turned on if needed, and will not totally eliminate the possibility of rolling blackouts, but they will help take some of the electrical strain off of the grid.
If rotating outages are necessary, you can see if your account will be impacted at sce.com/rotatingoutage.
Below are energy conservation tips from SCE:
Home energy conservation tips
- Set air conditioners to 78°F or higher.
- Turn off unused appliances and equipment.
- Use electric fans instead of air conditioning when practical.
- Minimize use of lighting where possible.
- Close drapes and blinds to keep out direct sunlight during hot periods.
- Avoid using evaporative coolers or humidifiers at the same time an air conditioner is running.
- Operate swimming pool equipment and energy-intensive appliances, such as dishwashers, washing machines and dryers, during early-morning and late-evening hours after 10:00 p.m.
- Limit the opening and reopening of refrigerators, major users of electricity in many homes.
Business energy conservation tips
- When possible, shift power-intensive work to morning or late-evening hours.
- Precool your workspace and work areas or cycle air conditioning and ventilation.
- Set thermostats to 78°F or higher.
- Turn off unneeded lighting, ornamental or display lighting.
- Turn off equipment not in use.
- Run ice machines at night and into the early afternoon to build up a large supply.
- Use night covers on refrigerated display cases.
- Charge battery-powered equipment before 3 p.m. or after 10 p.m.
Please note that though rotating power outages may occur because of the extreme heat felt statewide, Stage 3 rotating power outages are not associated with the public safety power shutoff (PSPS) program.
URGENT – WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Los Angeles/Oxnard CA
603 AM PDT Fri Aug 14 2020
Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area- Santa Barbara County Mountains-Ventura County Mountains- Los Angeles County Mountains excluding the Santa Monica Range- Including the cities of San Marcos Pass, San Rafael Wilderness Area, Dick Smith Wilderness Area, Lockwood Valley, Mount Pinos, Acton, Mount Wilson, and Sandberg
…EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM PDT MONDAY…
* WHAT…Dangerously hot conditions with high temperatures between 97 and 109 expected generally below 5000 feet.
* WHERE…Santa Monica Mountains, Santa Barbara County Mountains, Ventura County Mountains and Los Angeles County Mountains.
* WHEN…Until 9 PM PDT Monday.
* IMPACTS…Extreme heat will significantly increase the potential for heat related illnesses, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Overnight temperatures will be very warm with temperatures only lowering into the 70s and around 80, warmest especially in the foothills. Heat conditions may persist later into the week and the product may be extended.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances.
Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat
stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location.
Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1.
We seen about a dozen Cal fire trucks on the 154 this morning coming back from Lake Cachuma. It was already 85 in the shade at 10 am when we retreated from the campground to our oasis near the ocean!!
10:28 – it IS mid-August and this heat is completely appropriate for this time of year. Let’s not go blaming people just yet. Come back with that when we have 90 degree Christmas Days.
Global warming
Not Christmas day, but back in 1978 dec. 13th it was 84 degrees. I remember distinctly as it was the day I moved here. Haven’t left because of that very thing. 85-90 for Christmas is not that much of an oddity. I’ve been on the Pismo pier in August bundled in a down jacket and also in shorts and shirtless at 10 at night in January. That’s the beauty of the south/central coast.
Finally it’s been freezing this summer
10:28, you are such a beautiful man! In lieu of your comment, I’m sure you don’t own a car, and are either independently rich or subservient to the welfare system which those of us who are forced to utilize cars in order to fund said system must rely. I hope that you can find an equitable solution to this problem: perhaps with your untold wealth you can subsidize us plebeians so that we can enjoy off-days, and not have to drive. Keep me posted.
Pretty soon it will be like this all the time because of people’s disregard for common sense and insistence on polluting indiscriminately with their excessive driving and the pollution they routinely create from other sources.
I’d like to once again thank whomever it was on this site who posted Daniel Swain’s “Weather West” work here. I’ve been subscribed to his newsletters since. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
He actually wrote an addendum to his recent post re: this heatwave to say he’d under-cast it, so to speak, and that this heatwave would be hotter and longer than he’d forecast. There’s a lot of good info in the comments too. ///////////////////////////////////////
https://twitter.com/Weather_West //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
https://weatherwest.com/
Heat waves are and will continue to get worse. Look at the global weather news. We’re um, deeply troubled, is the general message.
Look at fires in the Arctic, the defrosting of permafrost, and all glacial melt. Good luck to your kids, those of you who decided to have them. They, and we, will be able to watch weather and drought refugees dying, on whatever media we chose to consume.
Thank you for your comment. I’ve been baffled by people complaining last year.. “Oh my god, this is the worst year EVER!” And I point out it’s 81 degrees, and two years ago it was 112 degrees… for weeks. It seems to be relative what people’s perception of ‘regular’ is, or if the news/weather information is going to tell us just how hot it’s going to be, and suddenly we have no memory or understanding of the seasons.
Funny how California gets a couple hot days and the electrical grid goes to pot. There are many other states that are far hotter than this every summer, every year, they don’t seem to have such a huge electrical deficit.
LCP112233 – Exactly! Same with the wind, if it gets too hot and windy, the power gets shut down. Yeah, I know it’s for liability reasons, but what kind of third world bs is this? It’s 2020 and the rest of the developed world is able to keep on the power during wind and heat. It’s getting kind of embarrassing now.
I tell my friends back east that we wear parkas at fourth of july,and a tank top at christmas, and they just cant believe it. Been that way since I was a kid. Nuthin’ new.
Weather is the same as it always was.
A parka at 4th of july and a tank top at x-mas.
Nuthin’ new.
MOUNTAINMAN: Agreed. I have a De’Longhi portable AC that I picked up from Costco a few years back during that relentlessly hot summer. Did not need it last year, and so far I haven’t dug it out of the closet yet…though I’m getting close the past few nights. It’s been comparably mild the past two summers in my opinion.
Yes, Sacjon. Renewable and clean energy is a great thing. But when it comes down to it, we need other available resources for redundancy. Indeed shutting the power down because it’s windy on a hot day is ridiculous! We need some structural changes to upgrade our electrical systems it seems.
LA Times said there are 2 reasons- People are staying home and using AC instead of going to a movie or to the beach, and also this heat wave is covering the whole southwest and so the other states that can usually send us their extra power can’t do that. Would be very uneconomical to build a bunch of power stations that sit idle most of the time. You wouldn’t want to pay for that, would you?
Too many people. Simple. I agree that this is aggravated by the reality that people are staying at home and increasing the drain. But the bottom line is that we have too many people sucking up limited resources.
A curious article from KNX1070 -https://knx1070.radio.com/articles/power-experts-baffled-about-need-for-rolling-blackouts-in-ca The entire article is about the utility companies saying why, and the last two paragraphs are ‘experts’ scratching their head over ‘why?’.
Power experts…now that had me spilling my coffee as I try not to laugh.
How do I train to become one, will it help me in politics?
Electrical distribution is a protection racket..got to occasionally shake them down for more money.
No different than a Scorsese movie, but in control of electricity .
Could easily be the finance people gaming the market. Creating an artificial scarcity makes the prices go higher and profits also. Remember how Enron did it? Our State government doesn’t seem to be able to control this.
Why don’t those seeking to reduce electricity use admonish these business owners all over town like the ones down at Montecito Country Mart who have argued with me about leaving their doors open with the cold A/C blasting out on hot days? When confronted with their ignorance, they give the excuse that it “increases business”. When I ask if they are concerned about a large electrical bill, stress on the power grid, global warming caused by rampant overuse of fossil fuels (typically what runs electrical grids and turbines), they say the same thing and shrug their shoulders. And people don’t see how that contributes to the heatwaves, such as the record-setting heatwave we are now experiencing. But thank goodness they have all the answers!
I agree this summer is waaaayyyyy more tolerable here in SB than two years ago. It didn’t cool off at night that year, either, which made it much more difficult. But the last two weeks have been the warmest in 70 years for the west coast, according to Gov. Newsom. It was 100 in Santa Cruz on Sunday. 130 in Death Valley, hottest day in 100 years. Power companies could have given a little more warning, given the forecast.
Noteworthy that the problem of delivery is with the private corporate model (SCE< PGE) . The LA Dept of Water and Power is apparently doing well this week. It seems pretty clear this is because the LADWP is concerned with service, not shareholder profit and bonuses for the management. Socialism, or whatever you want to label it, wins this round of service to the customer.
The only thing that helped us this summer was a cooler than normal ocean that got the marine layer going. But August has come and the marine layer left town. Walking my dogs at 6 last night was like being on the East Coast, hot and muggy. If the heat stays and the SantaAnas start up, it’s going to be a long fire season.
LADWP sold a bunch of megawatts to SCE during this time. But don’t tell the Owen’s Valley about it.
Usually this time of year my kids are in school and husband and I are at work, so our AC is off. That’s not true anymore, and both our workplaces are still open and cooling the partially empty offices.