California regulators on Friday issued a statewide flex alert for the 10th straight day as a prolonged heat wave continued to put a strain on the power grid. The alert expired as of 9 p.m., as Californians once again avoided rotating power outages.
Temperatures across the region are expected to drop off significantly for the weekend, according to forecasts.
During a flex alert, the grid operator urges people to take steps like setting their home or business thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, avoiding the use of major appliances and turning off any unnecessary lights.
During the prolonged heat wave and a long string of flex alerts, PG&E has warned about the high possibility of rolling blackouts, which the Bay Area has managed to avoid. But there have been several unplanned power outages because of equipment failure in the intense heat.
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In San Jose alone, nearly 100,000 PG&E customers, including three hospitals, lost power this week. Mayor Sam Liccardo blamed the utility for infrastructure failures and said there were a number of blown transformers in 2020 that were never fixed.
Liccardo said the city will seek a court injunction if PG&E doesn't present a plan to immediately make necessary repairs to its infrastructure.
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For more details about the heat and other weather information, visit the NBC Bay Area weather page.
