Over the summer, Santa Clarita residents have seen triple-digit temperatures, a mysterious haze and high electric bills. California’s energy grid operator can’t help with the first two, but officials from CAISO have provided tips to lower Santa Clarita residents’ electric footprint – and their bill – over the warmer months.

CAISO, or California Independent System Operator, manages and operates the electrical network for California as a whole, issuing FLEX alerts to conserve energy and prevent widespread outages throughout Los Angeles County and the rest of the state.

“Flex Alerts are issued when the electricity grid is under stress because of generation or transmission outages, or from persistent hot temperatures,” CAISO officials said in a news release.  

Flex Alerts are part of an educational alert program to inform consumers about how and when to conserve electricity.

Related Story: Hot Weather Prompts Flex Alert Designed To Conserve Electricity

In order to reduce the strain on the power grid, CAISO representatives often remind residents to turn off unnecessary appliances and to set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher if possible.

Residents can also consider holding off on using high-energy devices like dishwashers until the grid is less strained, according to CAISO. Doing this reduces the chances of overloading the power grid system.

Still, some residents might not see a significant change to their energy consumption, even when drastically reducing their appliance usage, according to Ohmconnect, a company that works with California’s energy providers to allow residents to earn cash-back rewards for their real-time household energy savings.

Homes often consume energy even when their tenants are not there, according to Ohmconnect officials.  

Even when the bulk of home appliances appear to be off, many still consume power, consuming “vampire energy,” Ohmconnect officials said.  

Some of these devices including gaming devices, cable boxes, wifi connectors and even old microwave ovens. To save electricity, these devices should be unplugged when not in use, especially during peak hours of energy usage: from noon to 6 p.m.

A typical American home has about 40 products continuously drawing power, according to Ohmconnect officials. This combined “vampire energy” use can account for about 10 percent of a power bill.

Ohmconnect even recommends that residents consider turning circuit breakers off partially or completely when away, ensuring that little to no power is being used in the house.

For residents worried that the loss of power might affect the food in the fridge, the FDA reported that food can be in an unpowered refrigerator for up to four hours with no damage to the items inside.

For more electricity conservation tips, visit the Flex Alert website here.

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