With all the city, county and state news, publicity and marketing reminding us about the California drought, I think many, if not most of us, are finally getting the message. At our house, Steve and I make sure that we only water our landscaping on approved days and times, and we are both careful to avoid runoff. Now that we have turned off our sprinkler timers, I know that we are saving a lot of water. We can tell that our efforts are successful because our water bill has reduced dramatically, providing us with a few more dollars in our piggy bank.
Now that the water-saving campaign is proving to be fruitful when it comes to teaching the population to taking shorter showers and minimize landscape irrigation, I am sure it won’t be long before it will be quite popular, and strongly suggested, that we wash dishes by hand instead of wasting water by running partial loads in our automatic dishwashers. Furthermore, I bet we will all be encouraged to run loads of laundry on the proper settings in order to not only conserve water, but to assist with conserving electricity.
On that very subject, I recently read an article provided by Southern California Edison (SCE) that gave quite a bit of information about their Save Power Days. After finishing the article, written by Paul Netter of SCE’s corporate communication department, I decided to give him a call and ask if I could share his writings with our readers.
Not only did Paul agree (yes, he said I could call him Paul), we had a nice discussion about hot weather and the effects on people and pets. I let him know that my mother will be 96 years old on her next birthday and that I worry about her getting overheated. He agreed that the elderly, pets and small children are especially vulnerable to extremely hot weather. I shared with him that I have lived in Southern California all my life and that I believe I have only experienced humid weather for the last decade or so. We also spoke a bit about how odd it is for our neck-of-the-woods to be experiencing what could be considered a monsoon season.
Moving on with our talk, Paul asked me if we had much in the way of thunderstorms or lightning. I confirmed that we do have a bit of that type of activity, but not as much as in other parts of the country. He made it clear that keeping safe during lightning is very important, and he reminded me that he mentioned a bit about the topic in his article that I read.
Before we ended our call, I let Paul know that our paper comes out on Friday and that since the headline on his story reads “SCE calls a Save Power Day for Wednesday and Thursday and asks its customers to conserve energy,” I didn’t want to be late in giving our readers the news. Paul responded, “Based on the weather, (Save Power Days) will be called for periodically.”
Below is Paul’s article. I thank him for sharing it with us. I know that our readers will enjoy it as much as I did.
“SCE calls a Save Power Day for Wednesday and Thursday and asks its customers to conserve energy”
July 28, 2015
By Paul Netter
With the National Weather Service predicting triple-digit temperatures and thunderstorms in some areas of the region beginning Wednesday, Southern California Edison (SCE) urges its customers to stay safe while staying cool.
SCE has also called a Save Power Day for Wednesday and Thursday. Customers participating in the conservation program can earn up to $100 in bill credits per year for conserving energy between 2pm and 6pm.
The weather service is forecasting that a hot and humid weather pattern, along with possible isolated thunderstorms, will linger over SCE’s service area, including Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside counties,
through at least Saturday. Lightning is possible as well. “During heat waves and especially thunderstorms, it is important that people size up their situation and take the appropriate precautions,” said Don Neal, SCE director of Corporate Environmental, Health and Safety. “For example, if you hear thunder, even in the distance, immediately find a safe place. Fully enclosed buildings with wiring and plumbing or hard-topped metal vehicles with closed windows are best.” SCE also reminds customers to never approach or touch a downed power line or dangling wire— even if it appears not to be live— and call 911 immediately. Outages also may leave traffic signals out, so approach those intersections as four-way stops.
Customers may report or inquire about outages at 1-800-611-1911 and get the latest information from the outage page at sce.com/outages . They can also download the “My SCE” app for outage updates on their smartphones. Updates also are shared via Twitter.
To sign up for the Save Power Day program, go to sce. com/spd . Customers can select how they would like to be notified, either by phone, email or text.
To stay cool— and conserve energy— during the heat wave, SCE customers are urged to set their thermostats no lower than 78 degrees and to reduce electricity use between noon and 6pm, the peak hours of energy usage.
Other tips to conserve energy and stay cool, include:
• Use electric fans instead of air conditioning when practical
• Close drapes and blinds to keep out direct sunlight during hot periods
• Limit how often you open your refrigerator door
• When possible, businesses should shift power-intensive work processes to morning or evening hours.
“In addition to thunderstorm precautions, customers should minimize outdoor activities during severe heat and drink plenty of water in order to stay hydrated to avoid heat illness or heat stroke,” said Neal. “And if you’re planning outdoor activities the rest of this week, monitor the weather. Don’t be caught off guard.”
