Flex alert issued for Tuesday

The line at the top indicates available demand; the solid blue line below indicates actual demand (as of about 2 p.m.). As you can see, there seems to be enough juice for today, but the California Independent System Operator has issued a flex alert for Tuesday. That means keeping en eye on thermostats and not using heavy-duty appliances between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. It's not just having enough electricity - the hot weather puts an extra burden on power lines, transformers and other equipment. Some relief could arrive by Wednesday.