Imperial Irrigation District asks customers to conserve power in evenings amid heat wave

Imperial Irrigation District, the electricity supplier for the eastern Coachella Valley and Imperial County, has issued an alert calling for customers to voluntarily conserve electricity in the evenings over the next week when high demand is expected to put stress on the power grid.

The “Conserve Alert” was issued as a heat wave is expected to bake much of Inland California with temperatures expected to surpass 115 degrees Friday and Saturday in cities as far north as Chico and Redding — each more than 500 miles north of Palm Springs. In the Coachella Valley, temperatures are expected to reach 120 degrees on those days and surpass 110 degrees every day through at least next Monday.

What is a Conserve Alert?

The IID website explains that Conserve Alerts are generally issued during heatwaves when higher than usual energy demand to run air conditioners creates a possibility that demand for power could outstrip supply, leading to a possible interruption of service.

The alerts commonly cover the evening hours when people are returning home from work and using more lights, air conditioning and appliances even as solar power generation is going offline. If the company can no longer meet demand and must limit power to some users, it will issue subsequent alerts communicating that.

What is IID asking its customers to do?

The company is encouraging its customers to voluntarily conserve energy during those peak hours by doing the following:

• Setting thermostats to 78 degrees or higher when home
• Avoiding the use of major appliances like washers, dryers, dishwashers, pool pumps and electric vehicle chargers between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.
• Using fans to reduce the amount of air conditioning that is needed. However, IID says fans should be used to “cool people not spaces” and turned off when no one is in the room.
• Turn off unnecessary lights
• Use shades, drapes and blinds to reduce the amount of sunlight that enters their home

What is Edison saying?

Southern California Edison, which provides electricity to a large swath of Southern California that includes the western and central Coachella Valley, has not issued any alerts. The website for the California Independent System Operator, which manages the state’s power grid, includes a graph showing that the grid is expected to have adequate capacity to meet forecasted demand for the next seven days.

Paul Albani-Burgio covers growth, development and business in the Coachella Valley. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and email him at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.