The National Weather Service has issued an Excessive Heat Warning for parts of Los Angeles County from today, Friday, Aug. 14 at 11 a.m. through Monday, Aug. 17 at 9 p.m. The California Independent System Operator has issued a statewide Flex Alert effective today, Friday, Aug. 14 from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. In response, GWP is taking steps to ensure it can continue to provide reliable power to its customers. With transmission constraints and inability to rely on locally generated power from its Grayson Power Plant, GWP wants to avoid any interruptions in service and is counting on its customers to take steps to conserve as much energy as possible.

GWP is asking customers to conserve energy especially during peak hours in the day by asking them to turn up the temperatures on their thermostats and put off the use of large appliances until after 9 p.m.

“Making small changes in the way customers use energy adds up to a lot of energy saved,” said Steve Zurn, general manager of GWP. “We want to avoid any service interruptions due to our aging Grayson Power plant being offline. We are asking our customers to please conserve as much as possible so that we can continue to provide Glendale with reliable power during high demand periods.”

With any heat wave, service interruptions can be a real possibility during consecutive days of extremely high heat. To help conserve energy customers can do the following:

• Limit appliance use during peak hours of the day. Use them in early morning hours or after 9 p.m.
• Adjust air conditioning thermostats to 78 when home and set thermostats to 80 degrees when not home, keeping in mind the health of family members and pets.
• Use a ceiling fan instead of the AC whenever possible. Remember fans cool people not rooms.
• Close all curtains and blinds to keep out direct sunlight.
• Make sure all HVAC vents are clean and filters have been replaced.
• Turn off lights in rooms that are not in use.
• Use LEDs wherever possible since they don’t give off heat and are more efficient.
• Air dry dishes and clothes to avoid using the dishwasher or washing machine.
• Keep refrigerators full. A full fridge uses less energy.
• Unplug “energy vampires” – cellphone chargers, videogame consoles, microwave ovens, and other appliances with digital clocks that use energy even when turned off or in sleep mode.
• When possible, businesses should shift power-intensive work processes to morning or evening hours

GWP crews will as always be on duty and prepared to respond to heat-related outages if they do occur. Customers can also sign-up for the State of California’s Flex Alert system when the state issues an urgent call for conservation during peak energy use periods. To sign-up for Flex Alerts visit: www.Flexalert.org or follow @California_ISOon Twitter.

Cooling Centers are available for residents on the following dates and locations.

Date: Saturday – Monday, Aug. 15 – 18
Location: Pacific Community Center (Entrance near outdoor basketball/Pickleball courts)
Address: 501 S. Pacific Ave. Glendale, CA 91204
Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

For more energy conservation tips, visit www.GlendaleWaterAndPower.com.