California residents urged to conserve energy to help Midwest, Texas and Southeast

by Sarah Polus - 02/18/21 1:35 PM ET

Millions without power in Texas — Getty Images

Californians are being asked to reduce their energy usage as winter storms batter the South and Midwest, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Winter storms have left many in these regions without power as they brave below-freezing temperatures. As of Thursday, at least 36 deaths have been attributed to the unprecedented winter storms, six of which were due to exposure.

Texas has been hit especially hard, in part because its energy grid is not equipped to handle low temperatures. As of late Tuesday, more than 3.1 million Texans still had no power, according to the Chronicle.

The California Independent System Operator (California ISO) is now urging residents of the Golden State to use energy sparingly over the next few days to help ease the burden on power grids elsewhere.

We will encourage voluntary conservation over the next several days of a major #winterstorm in the Midwest and South, to help relieve stress on electricity grids there.

— California ISO (@California_ISO) February 16, 2021

The Western Interconnection is one of two main power grids that service the majority of the United States, but only a small region of western Texas is connected to it, as state relies mostly on its own independent grid. El Paso, Texas, which is served by the Western Interconnection, has largely been immune to the power outages affecting the rest of the state, according to the El Paso Times.

However, California is asking residents to help preserve power stability overall.

Some areas of #Texas are interconnected to other grids, so conserving energy in California frees up supplies that could potentially be exported to regions battered by #winterstorms.

— California ISO (@California_ISO) February 17, 2021

California ISO also tweeted various things state residents can do to help with power conservation efforts, including unplugging small appliances.

To help others across the country affected by extreme #winterweather, we encourage #energyconservation in the evening hours by:

• Unplugging small appliances & electronics
• Reversing your fan blades to produce a gentle updraft
• Using computer sleep and hibernate modes

— California ISO (@California_ISO) February 17, 2021