CalChoice Encourages Community Choice Aggregators to Prepare for Heat Waves and Conserve Energy

CalChoice encourages its community choice aggregators (CCA) to prepare for rising temperatures and keep California’s power grid stable by encouraging customers to conserve energy to avoid or lessen blackouts during heat waves.

“We encourage everyone to plan ahead and take action to conserve energy,” said CalChoice Executive Director Jason Caudle. “If we all do our part, we can conserve our grid and avoid blackouts or other harmful situations due to excessive heat.”

CalChoice advises its member CCAs and participating communities to sign up for Flex Alerts, which are voluntary calls for consumers to conserve electricity, typically during the summer months. Flex Alerts usually happen in the evening hours when solar generation is going offline and consumers are returning home and switching on air conditioners, lights, and appliances.

During Flex Alerts, consumers are asked to limit energy use between specific time periods, usually between 3 and 10 p.m., by setting air conditioning to 78 degrees, deferring use of major appliances, turning off unnecessary lights and more. Consumers are also encouraged to prepare for the Flex Alerts by pre-cooking meals, charging electric vehicles and more before 3 p.m.

In the past, the California Independent Systems Operator (CAISO), which manages the flow of electricity for 80 percent of California, was able to limit rolling blackouts and prevent longer, widespread power outages.

For more tips on how to conserve energy and to and receive notifications regarding Flex Alerts, visit flexalert.org. To learn more about CAISO, visit caiso.com.