Bay Area bracing for hot temperatures as residents urged to conserve energy
LIVERMORE, Calif. (KGO) -- Many of the people who live in the Bay Area cities most prone to the high temperatures were out and about early Tuesday morning before the heat rolled in.
As the temps continue to rise, several authorities are urging residents to conserve energy.
Tuesday might be the first full day of fall, but for Max and his owner, Marty, it still feels like the dog days of summer.
So, they made sure to start their routine early in the morning.
"Work on my trailer, work on my bicycle," Marty said.
The pair, like anyone else who lives in Livermore, knows how hot the city can and will get.
And high heat is expected for most of the Bay Area, leading PG&E to call for a Smart Day.
There's no more than 15 of them each year. They're targeted to incentivize Smart Rate program customers.
"When you're enrolled in the Smart Rate program, you pay a reduced rate in exchange for minimizing your electricity use during 15 days out of the year, which are normally some of the hottest days out of the year, and specifically minimizing your electricity use between the peak hour times," said Stephanie Magallon, PG&E spokesperson.
Those peak energy hours are from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., a period of time PG&E says is best for everyone, even those not enrolled in the program to conserve.
"That's when people start getting home. They start turning on their air conditioners, they start doing all of these activities that use up a lot of energy. And it's specifically during those times when we ask customers to conserve energy, whenever we are looking at hot days like today, so that we don't strain the grid and customers are able to save on their energy bill if they do, wait until after 9 p.m. or before 4 p.m. to do these activities," Magallon said.
Grid strain has been an issue impacting the entire state especially in recent years.
But thanks to new technology, PG&E says it expects to reduce the length of any heat related outages that may happen.
"We actually now have these smart switches that are able to self heal the grid. So for example, if there is a heat related outage, these smart switches are able to isolate the outage and reroute the power around the circuit or the line that was damaged to restore power within minutes," Magallon said.
ABC7 News Meteorologist Drew Tuma has your weather outlook
HOT FALL AFTERNOON
Highs today will be about 15 degrees above average. While records look safe (this time of the year records are quite high) this is likely the hottest day of the year for many. In SF, the hottest day so far this year has been 84. Today we have a decent shot at 90. Those sensitive to heat should take precautions. The coast will be BEAUTIFUL with sunny skies and heat relief in the 70s.
COOLER, SHOWERS WEDNESDAY
Dramrically cooler air arrives to wipe away our heat. At the same time monsoonal moisture will arrive from the south and bring us a chance of light showers throughout the day. Any rainfall would be less than .25" and we DO NOT have the threat of dry lightning. Biggest imapct would be slick roads where showers fall.
