Gavin Newsom urges Californians to limit power consumption as energy company warns half a MILLION residents to prepare for rolling outages – while EV owners are told to wait until AFTER 9PM to charge their cars

• PG&E said on Tuesday evening they had warned 525,000 homes that they could be without power due to the impossible demands on the grid
• A ‘flex alert’ was in place from 4pm-9pm on Tuesday in California, with residents asked to reduce their energy consumption
• Californians should raise the thermostat to 78 degrees or higher; turn off unnecessary lights; and avoid using appliances and charging electric vehicles
• The power grid in California is struggling to cope with soaring demand for air conditioning
• On Tuesday afternoon PGE was bracing for ‘a new historic all-time high for the grid’, which would force them to cut power supplies
• As of Tuesday afternoon, almost 7,000 people were without power, with the Bay Area hardest-hit, and temperatures in Sacramento reaching 111F 

Californians were asked Tuesday evening to sharply curtail their energy use as the region struggles with widespread power outages due to the extreme heat – and 525,000 customers are warned that they too could be without power as one of the state’s largest energy providers prepares to institute rolling blackouts across its coverage area.

Sacramento was sweltering in 111-degree heat and San Jose in 98F temperatures.

Residents cranking up the air conditioning were placing immense strain on the power grid, and the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, asked all to reduce their consumption at peak hours.

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), which provides California’s power, said on Tuesday afternoon they were bracing for ‘a new historic all-time high for the grid,’ forcing them to cut power supplies.

PG&E said there were 6,557 customers without power throughout the Bay Area, with the northern and southern suburbs of San Jose, Livermore, Danville, and parts of San Francisco hardest hit.

But they warned others to be prepared for outages.

‘PG&E has given advanced notification to ~525k customers to prepare for potential rotating outages in case they need to take place,’ they tweeted on Tuesday afternoon. 

More at: Dailymail.co.uk

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