ComEd says power grid under "critical strain" on West Side, in some west, southwest suburbs amid heat wave

ComEd has issued an urgent warning to people on the West Side of Chicago and in some west and southwest suburbs that the power grid is under "critical strain."

The electricity utility company sent an alert to customers living and working in Berwyn, Cicero, North Riverside, Stickney, Forest Park, Maywood, Oak Park and the Chicago neighborhoods of Little Village, North Lawndale, Douglas Park, Garfield Park and Austin about the strain the heat wave is placing on the power grid.

While no power outages were reported, ComEd said demand on the local grid serving those areas has reached a "critical level," and customers should immediately reduce energy use to prevent power outages.

At Peterson's Ice Cream Parlor in Oak Park had a steady flow of customers coming in and out amid the heat wave, especially after they got the message.

"We received a text and email to do whatever we can to reduce energy being that it is so hot," said Brittany Barbosa.

She and her family got the message to conserve energy until 8 p.m. on Wednesday, while crews were working to repair and replace impacted equipment at a local substation. 

 We went around the house. We closed the windows, blinds, and the shades. We turned the air conditioning up slightly," she said.

At a ComEd staging site outside the United Center, crews inside a mobile response unit were on standby, ready to respond at a moment's notice if the heat pushes the power grid to its limits.

Consumer advocates say most days we don't use the ComEd grid to the fullest extent, but it is built to sustain energy during these peak demand times. However, they say rolling blackouts or brownouts are a possibility.

"I'd be surprised if they need to do that today, but it's clearly enough that they are sending a signal to the customer base to try and conserve and try to use less energy," said Abe Scarr, director of Illinois Public Interest Research Group.

He says ComEd needs to find parts of the grid they need to invest more in.

To reduce electricity usage, ComEd is asking customers in the impacted areas to:

• Raise their thermostat as high as is comfortably safe
• Turn off unnecessary lights, chargers and electronic devices
• Delay running appliances like dishwashers, washing machines and dryers that consume a lot of electricity until later in the evening
• Delay charging electric vehicles on home chargers, especially during daylight hours
• Use ceiling and box fans to help cool your home and reduce demand on air conditioning
• Close blinds, shades, and curtains to block heat and keep home coolers
• Avoid nonessential electricity use during peak hours whenever possible

ComEd said it has crews out working around the clock to repair impacted equipment, address power outages, and protect service in affected areas. It's also activated its voluntary load reduction program and is asking large commercial and industrial customers to cut their electricity use.

An Extreme Heat Warning persists through Thursday night for all counties in the Chicago area and the city of Chicago itself. High temperatures Wednesday were in the 90s, with the humidity pushing the heat index into feeling like 100 to 110 degrees during the afternoon.

Night won't bring much relief, as temperatures will only drop into the upper 70s and feel like the low 80s.

The extreme heat continues Thursday, with highs in the mid-90s and feels-like temperatures of 105-110, with the additional threat of strong storms by evening that could also impact the area's power grid.

Find cooling centers in Chicago and Cook County

DFSS operates six community service cooling areas during heat at 90 degrees and above, which are open Monday - Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.:

•  Auburn Gresham Center - 1140 W. 79th Street
•  Garfield Center - 10 S. Kedzie Ave.
•  King Center - 4314 S. Cottage Grove
•  North Area Center - 845 W. Wilson Ave.
•  South Chicago Center - 8650 S. Commercial Ave.
•  Trina Davila Center - 4312 W. North Ave.    

Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications also maintains a map of all cooling centers and public facilities in the city that can be used during a heat wave if you don't have reliable air conditioning. The map is interactive and lists all facilities, their locations and their hours.

Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Library, City Colleges of Chicago and Chicago Police District locations are also available to the public to cool down during the heat wave, during their hours of operation. 

Cook County has dozens of cooling centers that are open and available during the summer, and also often extends their hours during heat events.

Two locations are open 24 hours a day at all times: the Evanston cooling center at 1703 Orrington Avenue and the Hazel Crest Department of Fire and Rescue at 3000 W. 170th Place. 

Several other cooling centers are open 24/7 during heat waves:

• Orland Park Police Department at 15100 S. Ravinia Avenue
• Bettenhausen Rec Center in Tinley Park at 8125 W. 171st Street
• Tinley Park Police Department at 7850 W. 183rd Street
• Tinley Park Public Safety Building at 17355 S. 68th Court