Help avoid rotating outages today from 4-9 PM
SMUD asks customers to limit their use of electricity from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
SMUD anticipates energy shortfalls in the late afternoon and evening hours and rotating outages are possible unless we all work together to reduce electric consumption.
The following are the top ways residential customers can conserve electricity and help avoid emergency rotating outages:
- Precool your home before 4 p.m. To do that, turn down the thermostat to 75 degrees in the mid afternoon and let your AC work to get the home as cool as possible. Then, at 4 p.m., raise the thermostat to 82 degrees. That will help keep your home cool during peak hours while also comfortable.
- Do not run large appliances or equipment during peak hours and turn off unnecessary lights.
- Charge personal electronic devices and electric vehicles before 4 p.m. or after 9 p.m.
Commercial and industrial customers are asked to reduce the use of lighting not essential for safety purposes in garages, hallways, lobbies, warehouses and displays. The minimized use of office equipment, supply and exhaust fans, circulating pumps, and maintenance and repair equipment will also lower the demand for electricity.
SMUD will exhaust every avenue before rotating outages are called. This includes procuring power on the open market, activating its voluntary Air Conditioning Load Management program and calling on commercial customers who have previously agreed to reduce consumption.
Should rotating outages become necessary, impacted customers will be given as much advanced notice as possible, and no customer will be out of power for more than approximately one hour. SMUD would rotate outages by sections until the emergency is over. No section will be repeated until all 39 sections have been cycled through. Customers can learn which section they are in at our rotating outage map.