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Temperatures in excess of 100 degrees prompt calls for energy savings

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Sweltering temperatures across Southern California prompted calls Monday for electricity customers to reduce their energy use to help reduce strain on a system already weakened by the absence of the troubled Aliso Canyon natural gas storage plant.

Utility companies urged their residential customers to voluntarily delay washing clothes and dishes until bedtime and to keep their thermostats at 78 degrees or higher. In addition, the power companies asked business customers to voluntarily suspend unnecessary daytime operations such as production line work until nightfall.

The so-called flex alert initiated by the California Independent System Operator, which manages the state’s electric grid for most of the state, was scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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“We’re doing everything we can to reduce the load,” said Ronald Nichols, president of Southern California Edison. “It’s something that we’re closely monitoring.”

Nichols said there were a small number of outages Monday of about 10,000 to 20,000 of Edison’s customers, but there was no expectation of forced rolling blackouts.

To help manage available power, Edison and other utilities also initiated other energy saving programs Monday, called “demand response.”

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Business and residential customers that enroll in the programs can earn credits on their bills by agreeing to reduce their electricity usage during periods of high electricity use.

The programs tapped for Monday’s high temperatures were largely voluntary, though customers enrolled in some programs can agree to have service interrupted by the utility when electricity use is high.

“We are certainly watching temperatures,” said Lynsey Paulo, a spokeswoman for Pacific Gas & Electric, which asked its customers to save energy even though the higher temperatures were south of its service area. “We are encouraging our customers in Northern California … to prepare for the heat now.”

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This round of high temperatures are expected to be short-lived, but it still was a test of how prepared the utilities are to handle summer demand for electricity.

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Part of the concern raised by Cal-ISO is that natural gas supplies used as fuel for many power generators in the Los Angeles area may be tight during this heat event because of the inability to access natural gas stored at Southern California Gas Co.’s Aliso Canyon facility. A well at the storage facility began leaking in October and wasn’t plugged for four months, which led to a moratorium on gas withdrawals.

The California Public Utilities Commission and other state energy agencies have warned that because of the lack of operations at the Aliso Canyon field, the state’s largest natural gas storage facility, Southern California could face blackouts during as many as 14 days this summer.

In May, the commission gave Edison approval to purchase battery storage for electricity to help reduce strain on the electric system. Nichols said Edison plans to have the batteries available next summer, though some could come online as early as the end of this year.

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Air quality regulators recently agreed to allow the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to violate pollution rules this summer by burning diesel fuel at three L.A. Basin power plants to prevent blackouts.

ivan.penn@latimes.com

Follow me at @ivanlpenn

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