SAN DIEGO — The prolonged heat wave has caused power outages throughout San Diego.
SDG&E said the San Diego region hit an all-time record for energy demand on Sunday, which contributed to thousands of households losing power.
According to SDG&E, at its peak, there were 14,000 customers without power, mostly in East County.
By Monday morning, all but 900 homes had been restored.
"Our Jamacha substation in Rancho San Diego experienced about 10,500 outages yesterday alone, myself included," said SDG&E spokesperson Alex Welling.
According to SDG&E, energy demand peaked at 6:45 p.m., hitting 5,032 megawatts. For comparison, the previous record hit 4,890 megawatts on Sept. 16, 2014.
Welling said the outages were unplanned, explaining that while the power company prepared by tracking the forecast closely and having crews on standby, some of their equipment could not withstand multiple days and nights of prolonged heat.
"What happens is, during these prolonged heat events where we're seeing increased demand, but also the increased temperatures, especially during the evening hours, it doesn't offer our equipment an opportunity to cool down overnight, and then that added stress, that continued added stress, can lead to increased outages," said Welling.
Welling told CBS 8 it's an important reminder to be ready ahead of time by ensuring your devices are charged and knowing where the closest cool zones are. SDG&E also recommends that customers use a ceiling or portable fan instead of air conditioning, run air conditioning early in the morning to pre-cool your home, run major appliances early in the morning or late at night and unplug idle devices.
No rolling blackouts
Fortunately, San Diego didn't experience any rolling blackouts like we did during a heat wave back in August 2020.
Welling said that's due to more resources added to the state's power grid. Still, SDG&E is asking customers to save energy as this heat wave continues.
A cool down is expected on Tuesday, which comes as welcome news for a lot of people in San Diego County.
"I'm over the heat. It can go away at any time," said Ken Miller.
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