With record temperatures across the state, PG&E crews are keeping a close eye on the strain being put on the power grid. Damian Trujillo has details on how the Emergency Operations Center for PG&E in the South Bay is preparing for the possibility of rolling blackouts.
PG&E crews across the Bay Area are keeping a close eye on the strain being put on the power grid in California.
The utility company had a small crew inside the operations center in the South Bay Tuesday morning, but as temperatures rise and the possibility of power outages grows, all hands are on deck trying to keep up with the demand.
The team inside the operations center is tasked with tracking and responding to power outages in the South Bay. A total of 38 power outages were reported by noon, and PG&E expects those numbers to climb into night time.
"We have people at the ready to go out there and respond if equipment overheats and fails," explained PG&E Vice President Teresa Alvarado. "We have crews that are ready to go over there and get the power going as soon as we can."
Crews are being brought in to the Bay Area from all over, including the Central Valley.
PG&E explained the transformers in that region are built for continuous days of excessive heat, unlike the transformers in the Bay Area.
Therefore, areas like Fresno don't see as many transformer blowouts as cities that are closer to the coast even though they tend to have more hot days.
San Jose resident Fred Carpenter and his neighbors near Brett Harte Middle School lost power for hours Monday night.
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Bryant Ngyuen calls it "frustrating" and decided to spend some time in his car trying to cool down.
"Yeah, just to stay away from the heat. Try to stay as cool as possible. It's why we hang out in the car," he told NBC Bay Area.
With the heat wave hitting every part of the state, PG&E is also preparing for a possible state order to begin rolling blackouts if the forecast holds and power demand outpaces supply.
"We really recommend everyone get prepared for later this afternoon, early this evening," Alvarado said. "That's when we're all cranking up the AC and we also lose some supply to the system."
PG&E said if rolling blackouts are called each area could lose power for one to two hours, but the utility company tries not to inconvenience the same customers twice during the same heat wave.
