The California Independent System Operator predicts California could be short 600 to 3,700 megawatts of power on any given day between May and the end of September, which could result in power outages for millions of Californians. An electrical outage, no matter what its cause, is a time to exercise caution for the safety of our families and our homes, our neighbors and ourselves.
Safety also means being prepared and knowing what actions to take before an outage occurs.
Keep a manual can opener available, and also stock easy-open prepared foods and snacks as well as a few gallons of bottled water. If you have pets, don't forget to put aside some food for them. Food generally can stay fresh or frozen for about 24 hours in the refrigerator or freezer. To prolong that time, fill a couple of two-liter bottles of water and put them in the freezer. In an outage, put the ice-filled bottles in the food storage compartment of your refrigerator.