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Environment

SDG&E Offers Bill Credit To Energy Savers During Heat Wave

Power lines in Bankers Hill are shown in this photo, Aug. 31, 2017.
KPBS Staff
Power lines in Bankers Hill are shown in this photo, Aug. 31, 2017.

San Diego Gas & Electric's incentive program for customers to reduce power consumption amid Southern California's continuing heat wave will be invoked Friday for a second consecutive day.

In the Reduce Your Use Rewards program, enrolled customers are asked to cut back on energy between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Doing so makes them eligible to earn a bill credit of 75 cents per kilowatt hour saved, or $1.25 credit per kilowatt hour saved with enabling technology, like a smart thermostat.

RELATED: SDG&E Will Give People Bill Credit To Save Energy As Heat Wave Continues

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Separately, Cal-ISO, the agency that manages most of the state's power grid, announced a Flex Alert for Friday, asking for voluntary power reductions from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.

SDG&E officials say they have secured sufficient electricity and don't anticipate any problem meeting demand. However, that could change should anything unexpected or out of the utility's control occur.

The state agency, Cal-ISO, said they'll be cutting it close.

"Forecasts now project record demand load on Friday and all available resources are on line and ready to respond," Cal-ISO said in a statement. "Power supply conditions will be tight (Friday) and so will be the natural gas supply in southern California."

RELATED: More Than 70 San Diego Unified Schools On Minimum Day Schedule Due To Heat Wave

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Customers can reduce power consumption by using fans or ceiling fans instead of running air conditioning systems, or by setting the AC at 78 degrees, running the AC in the morning to pre-cool a residence, closing drapes and blinds, running major appliances and pool pumps outside of peak-usage hours, and either unplugging televisions, cable boxes and gaming devices or hooking them up to a smart power strip.

Information about the rewards program, including signing up, is at sdge.com/reduceuse.