Southern California Edison Prepares for Possible Outages During Heatwave

Southern California Edison officials today stepped up their call for customers to conserve electricity during this week's heat wave, saying increased use of air conditioners could lead to equipment failures and power outages.

According to the utility, many of its customers have been using more energy at night due to the heat, straining its distribution equipment and leading to the threat of power outages.

Edison officials urged residents to reduce their power usage as much as possible, particularly in the evenings.

The utility recommended that customers take steps to conserve, including:

• setting thermostats no lower than 78 degrees;

• closing drapes and blinds to keep rooms cool;

• ventilating homes at night and in the early morning to allow cool air to circulate

•  limiting the opening of refrigerators;

•  turning off lights in unoccupied areas; and

•   relying on ceiling or smaller fans to cool rooms instead of air conditioners.

In addition, the City of Agoura Hills lists the following information on its website:

Low-income and medically sensitive customers can take advantage of “Cool Centers,” which are operated by local governments and community-based organizations. A list of locations can be found at www.sce.com/coolcenters.

SCE recommends customers follow these safety tips if a power outage occurs: Use flashlights for lighting during a power outage; do not use candles because they pose a significant fire hazard. Never attempt to move or go near a downed power line. Call 911 to report the situation. Watch for traffic signals that may be out. Approach those intersections as four-way stops. If someone in your home is dependent on electric-powered, life sustaining medical equipment, have an emergency plan that includes a back-up power source, or make arrangements to relocate.

For updates, follow SCE on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SCE and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SCE  About Southern California Edison.

To download flyers and more information, please click on the following links:

 Southern California Edison Prepares for Possible Outages     
 Summer Readiness Heat Wave Messaging Overview