This one text 'saved California from a blackout'

Temperatures soared to nearly 115°F (46.1°C) in Sacramento, California on Tuesday threatening to push the electrical grid into a blackout - but one text may have saved residents.

For more than a week, California has faced relentless record-high temperatures leading to high energy consumption from residents trying to cool down.

The state issued 'Flex Alerts' for days, urging people to reduce energy consumption between 4 pm and 9pm. But it wasn't until Tuesday that the power grid faced a potential failure.

Shortly before 5:30 pm, residents received an emergency text from the California Independent System Operator (ISO) indicating they should prepare for blackouts unless they reduce energy consumption.

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"Conserve energy now to protect public health and safety. Extreme heat is straining the state energy grid. Power interruptions may occur unless you take action. Turn off or reduce nonessential power if health allow, now until 9 pm," the text read.

ISO estimated energy demand peaked at 47,357 megawatts- the highest it's been since September 2017 according to Bloomberg.

Shortly after the text message was sent, power consumption dropped by 1.2 gigawatts and continued to drop throughout the evening, saving Californians from widespread blackouts.

Later that evening, the California Governor's Office tweeted thanking residents who did their part to conserve energy.

"Thank you to everyone who saved power - coming together to keep the lights on for each other is the California way. But, we aren’t out of the woods yet. We will see continued extreme temps this week and if we rallied today, we can do it again."

The heat wave is expected to continue through the week.

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