3 days Ago
Jessica Roy | Los Angeles Times (TNS) Rising temperatures are pushing California’s power grid to its limit — again. Forecasters say extreme heat will bake the state this week, starting what is expected to be the longest heat wave of the year. Northern California, the Central Valley and the southwestern deserts in particular are bracing for dangerous temperatures through the extended Fourth of July holiday weekend and into early next week.
The demand for around-the-clock cooling could strain the state’s utilities, and the increased risk of wildfires also threatens to force some precautionary power cutoffs. You can find many tips online for beating the heat, but a lot of them involve using some electricity. Here’s what you can do to stay cool without power, before and during an outage.
How to prepare before a blackout If you have advance notice of a rolling blackout , try to cool your home as much as possible beforehand and do whatever you can to keep it that way, said Joseph Riser, a public information officer for the Los Angeles Emergency Management Department. During a Flex Alert, you want to keep your AC at 78 or higher, or turn it off entirely. But before the alert goes into effect, it’s OK to crank it so that the system will have to work less when you should be conserving power.
Close blinds, curtains and doors to contain the cooler air. A battery-operated or rechargeable fan will come in handy. Even a little handheld one will help you feel more comfortable.
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