BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Extreme heat is here in Kern County and one of the state's largest utility companies, Pacific Gas & Electric, is preparing for it.
Operations Communications Manager Jeff Smith talks about what the energy provider is doing to get ready for potential power outages.
"What we do is we bring in crews into the areas we expect may have the greatest impact of outages so there's shorter travel distances and things like that when they're able to get there and repair any equipment that needs to be repaired," said Smith. "We're also making sure that we got replacement transformers stored and ready to go so that if there is a power outage, we're able to get that equipment replaced and get customers online as quickly as we can."
Smith also shared some tips to help keep your home as cool as possible for the next few days. He says to take advantage of the early morning hours when it's cooler and use the opportunity to "supercool" your home, either by opening doors and windows to let the cooler fresh air in, or by turning your air conditioning lower than normal for a couple of hours.
As the sun gets stronger, hold on to your cool indoor air by shutting all doors and windows, and keep the inside temperature down by closing your blinds or curtains through the warmest part of the afternoon.
