The California electric grid operator issued a warning to all residents of California that the agency may be forced to implement rolling blackouts if the heat wave will worsen.
This warning was issued as the "state's electrical grid struggled to keep up with surging demand" amid a heat wave," as per Los Angeles Times.
With this, the operator announced an "emergency call of immediate energy conservation" on Tuesday.
California Independent System Operator Sets Alert to Level 3
At around 5:30 p.m. PT, a level 3 alert was issued by the California Independent System Operator. This level is the highest-level energy emergency alert before rolling blackouts are implemented.
"The Independent System Operator is anticipating high loads and temperatures across the CASISO grid," the grid operator said in its alert.
Moreover, the grid operator added that "CAISO is forecasting an energy deficiency with all available resources in use for the specified time period," thus, all residents are urged to employ maximum energy conservation.
The alert was in effect for around three hours, from 5:30 p.m. until 8 p.m., according to CNET.
According to Forbes, the alert urged residents to implement energy conservation because "all available resources" for power generation are already predicted "to be in use during that time."
The operator urged the residents to set their thermostats to 78 degrees or higher during peak demand. Likewise, they are also advised to avoid using heavy appliances, and if possible, not to charge electric vehicles.
The call for immediate energy conservation seemed to work out for the best as California was able to avoid widespread power outages.
However, according to Los Angeles Times, there are still three cities in Northern California that experienced brief losses of power.
The level 3 alert was downgraded by the California Independent System Operator at 8 p.m., three hours after it was announced.
According to the agency, the "consumer conservation played a big part in protecting electric grid reliability."
Read Also: Wearable Air Conditioners 2022: Beat the Heat Wave With These Wearables That Won't Hurt Your Wallet
California Suffers Worst Heat Wave in Years
According to CNET, the heat wave has already broken a number of temperature record. It begun just before the Labor Day weekend, and is expected to persist until Friday.
The National Weather Service said on Monday that "an extreme, dangerous heat gripped much of the region." Moreover, this time, the heat wave has tied or broken several official maximum temperature records.
On Tuesday afternoon, the state's capital, Sacramento, recorded a temperature of 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46.1 Celsius). This temperature broken a nearly century-old record.
Meanwhile, according to CNET, Livermore's previous all-time high record of 108 degrees Fahrenheit was broken, as the city's temperature hit 116 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a video posted to Twitter, Gov. Gavin Newsom encouraged residents to conserve as much energy that they can. He also warned residents that California is "heading into the heat wave's most severe period," as per CNET.
Newsom commends the Californians for heeding the immediate energy emergency conservation call on Tuesday. But he reminded them that the state is still heading into the worst part of the heat wave, therefore, much is still needed to be done.
Related Article: Australia Weather: Three Day Heat Wave To End The Year In Sydney
