Californians encouraged to cut back on air conditioning and other forms of electricity use as the heat wave in the West intensifies.
As millions of inhabitants experienced triple-digit temperatures, the state's electrical grid operator has requested voluntary cuts during the late afternoon and evening hours for the fourth day in a row.
According to the California Independent System Operator, the intense heat has driven numerous generators out of operation, resulting in a tighter supply of energy.
The peak demand for electricity on Thursday was 47,357 megawatts, the highest level since September 2017.
On Wednesday, Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed an emergency to boost energy production and loosened regulations intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.
The grid was overloaded in August 2020 due to a record heat wave, which had an impact on hundreds of thousands of residential and commercial consumers.
Officials added that the impacts of smog will be amplified by the heat.