The demand for electricity hit an all time high on Thursday as the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported 6,502 megawatts of electricity were being used at 4:15 pm, breaking the previous record of 6,396 megawatts. LADWP General Manager David H. Wright said in a statement, “simple actions like setting your thermostat at 78 degrees or higher, using major appliances before or after peak hours, and turning off unnecessary lights can go a long way toward reducing the strain on our electrical equipment and overall power system demand.”
Such extreme use of electricity can lead to power outages from time to time, such as it did for 11,000 customers living in Boyle Heights. Between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, a power outage occurred, due to the overly high demand of overloaded equipment. The power was restored by 6am. Due to record temperatures rising to the three digits, officials have advised customers to keep their power usage to a minimum throughout the hottest hours of the day.
Despite these warnings, power outages have still been reported in schools in the San Bernardino region forcing them to close down for the district day. With the city’s phone lines and water pumps down, the agency cautioned people to “PLEASE USE EXTREME WATER CONSERVATION DURING THIS OUTAGE OUR PUMPS DO NOT HAVE POWER.” The Apple and Lucerne valleys, as well as the mountains, valleys and foothills in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles counties have all received an excessive heat warning that will remain in effect through Saturday.