San Benito County said in a news release that a significant multi-day heat event is predicted to unfold over Labor Day weekend, which could result in substantial unplanned heat-related outage activity throughout the PG&E service territory.

“Fair and dry weather is expected Wed. with morning low clouds near the coast and slightly warmer inland temperatures,” the release said. “More robust warming of  about 5-10 degrees is anticipated tomorrow into Friday with highs in the 103-108F range in the interior.  Temperatures will peak over the Labor Day Weekend as a very strong ridge of high pressure builds over the region with widespread triple digit heat expected immediately inland from the coast.”

It added daytime highs in the 108-110 degrees range are possible in the Central Valley during this time, with 90s to low 100s in coastal valleys, and multiple Excessive Heat Watches and Warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service (NWS).

“The heat along the coast is expected to subside on Tuesday, but hot conditions will continue in the interior through at least the latter part of next week,” the release said. “Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) events are not expected in the Monterey, San Benito or Santa Cruz County areas but Enhanced Powerline Safety Settings (EPSS) technology is active on circuits in our region that cross into high fire threat areas, so some unplanned outages are to be expected if the EPSS technology senses a danger to the grid.”

PG&E said in a press release it is strategically allocating extra resources and prepositioning PG&E crews in areas where the grid stress is expected to be higher due to many homes and businesses cranking up the AC to fight the high temperatures, making the available power supply scarce.

“At this time, we are expecting the Central Coast to experience grid stress caused by the high temperatures and above normal temperatures in portions of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey counties,” PG&E said. “Our meteorology team will continue to monitor the weather around the clock to help us make operational decisions to limit potential outage activity.”

It added transformer failure is the top cause of heat-related outages. Transformers, which help distribute power to homes and businesses, need periods of time when they can cool down, and that usually happens overnight, when temperatures drop.

“When we have unusual heat events like the one forecasted over the next several days with sustained high overnight temperatures, transformers are unable to cool down,” PG&E said. “That puts stress on the transformer’s components, and they can become fatigued and can fail.”

Transformer failure is likelier in coastal areas with more moderate average temperatures, rather than in interior valleys that routinely experience extremely hot weather, PG&E said.

“Other parts of the PG&E service area, such as the Central Valley, are more accustomed to triple-digit temperatures and sustained high overnight temperatures, and have transformers built to handle more heat,” the release said. “Due to the transformer failure concern caused by expected sustained high overnight temperatures, we have secured additional transformers and other electric equipment for any outage activity that could impact the Central Coast.”

The release said cnce the weather event unfolds, PG&E will determine if our their emergency operations centers in Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey counties will be activated to allocate all resources and staff to support restoration efforts.

California ISO (CAISO), which manages the flow of electricity in the state, has warned that a Flex Alert is possible if the grid becomes too stressed. A Flex Alert is a call to customers to voluntarily cut back on electricity and shift electricity use to off-peak hours (normally after 9 p.m.), to mitigate the risk of local reliability issues. The key hours on hot days are usually between 4 – 9 p.m. during the “air conditioning rush hour.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the symptoms of heat stroke include:

The CDC advises taking the following steps to treat a worker with heat stroke:

PG&E energy saving tips:

PG&E urges customers to stay safe and reminds them to prepare for potential outages by following these steps:

Seasons run Sept. 1 through Sept. 15 and Nov. 12 through Dec. 26.

Temperatures to likely exceed 100 degrees.

Roadway excavation and potholing for underground construction will start at The Alameda, and continuing in an eastbound direction.