Power is restored after outage hits 415 customers in La Jolla, SDG&E says

Power was restored for about 70 customers shortly before noon Sept. 5 after a long outage struck several areas of La Jolla, affecting a total of 415 customers, according to San Diego Gas & Electric. Electricity was restored to the other customers earlier, the utility said.

The outage began at 5:51 p.m. Sept. 4. SDG&E attributed it to the weather’s effect on equipment, though details were not immediately available. An ongoing heat wave has put a strain on the electrical grid.

However, some La Jolla residents said this was the latest of three outages over the weekend, with one affecting the Muirlands area since the evening of Sept. 3.

“I (along with 70 residents or more) have been without power since around 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 3,” resident Leila Armstrong told the La Jolla Light. “Going forward two days later at 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 5, we are still without power. I have lost all my food in the refrigerator and freezer and finally decided that it was best to move to a hotel. I was relatively lucky, but there are some elderly residents with pets around me who are not.”

Last month, SDG&E replaced a cable that helps deliver power to more than 160 houses after a series of power outages in La Jolla’s Country Club area that started in May.

For the sixth consecutive day, the California Independent System Operator — which manages the state’s power grid — has a Flex Alert in effect Sept. 5, seeking voluntary power conservation to reduce pressure on the grid as temperatures reaching triple digits in some areas of San Diego County drive up use of air conditioners.

The system operator issued the first Flex Alert of the past week on Aug. 31,urging residents to reduce electricity use from 4 to 9 p.m. Additional Flex Alerts have been issued each day since. The Sept. 5 alert is for 4-10 p.m.

During the alerts, residents are urged to take power-saving steps such as:

• Set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher

• Avoid use of major appliances

• Turn off unnecessary lights

• Avoid charging electric vehicles

• Close blinds and drapes to help keep interiors cool

— City News Service contributed to this report. ◆