Glendale power officials warn of possible rolling blackouts if conservation falters amid heat wave

GLENDALE, Calif. (CNS) -- Amid a statewide call for residents to cut back on their electricity use during the heat wave, Glendale Water and Power officials warned Friday the utility may be forced to implement rolling blackouts early next week if customers don't conserve.

The utility issued the warning Friday morning in hopes of encouraging more of its customers to slash their electricity use.

"Without major conservation efforts during this week's heat wave, GWP may be forced to implement rolling power outages to its customers starting 9/4 (to) 9/6 for approximately one hour at a time," the utility announced on its Twitter page.

The California Independent System Operator, which manages the state's power grid, has issued Flex Alerts for three consecutive days, calling on residents to voluntarily reduce their power use between 4 and 9 p.m. Friday will be the third straight day of the alerts, and Cal-ISO has warned that more are likely over the weekend.

So far, residents have heeded the call, and the state's electrical grid has operated without any major interruptions during the beginning stages of the heat wave. If the Flex Alerts fail to result in reduced power usage and the system is strained, Cal-ISO could ultimately impose rolling power cuts.

During a statewide Flex Alert, Californians are asked to reduce their power use in a variety of ways, including not charging their electric vehicles.

GWP urged residents to be prepared for rolling blackouts, suggesting that they always have flashlights and extra batteries on hand, keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed during outages and prepare in advance for outages if residents use a life-support device.

Residents can check online at glendalewaterandpower.com for a map of outages. They can also sign up for text alerts about the condition of the power grid and the possibility of outages.