California's electricity grid operator issued a rare statewide alert on Thursday warning residents to curb power usage in coming days as a heat wave threatens to strain its already taxed network. The California Independent System Operation, or CAISO, a not-for-profit corporation charged with operating the majority of the state's high-voltage grid, issued a flex alert urging consumers to reduce power usage especially in the afternoon, when air-conditioning dramatically ramps up demand. A ridge of high pressure, which brought above-normal heat to the Midwest earlier this summer, is now sitting over the Four Corners region, pushing high temperatures into the upper 80s and low 90s Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) across much of California, about 5 to 10 degrees above normal, according to AccuWeather.com. [YAHOO]

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