Southern California’s late-August heat alerts are a timely reminder to check both your cooling system and your household’s outage plan. On August 24, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported National Weather Service heat advisories and forecasts of hotter conditions later that week. For homeowners, the alerts made reliable cooling and outage preparation immediate concerns.
For Los Angeles homeowners, the practical question is straightforward: if the AC stops during extreme heat, do you know whether to call your utility, arrange an HVAC repair, or leave for somewhere cooler?
Quick Answer: Preparing for Heat and Power Outages
Keep up with AC maintenance, check your utility’s outage updates, and identify an air-conditioned place your household can reach if home becomes unsafe. During an outage, switch off cooling equipment and follow the manufacturer’s restart instructions when power returns. Maintenance can reduce equipment problems, but it cannot prevent a utility outage.
What This Summer’s Reports Actually Show
CBS Los Angeles reported outages and AC breakdowns during a separate July 15, 2026 heat event. The July report and August forecast are reminders to prepare for AC trouble and to distinguish a problem inside the home from an interruption in utility service.
The statewide outlook also needs context. In its 2026 summer assessment, the California Independent System Operator projected enough resources for a wide range of summer conditions, while identifying extreme regional heat and wildfires as continuing reliability risks. That supports planning for disruptions without assuming rolling blackouts are inevitable.
For a problem at your address, use your electricity provider’s current outage information. A neighborhood outage, a planned maintenance outage, and a statewide supply emergency do not necessarily have the same cause.
What to Do When the Power Goes Out
SCE’s outage guidance recommends switching off lights except one and unplugging appliances, including plug-in air conditioners, to help prevent damage. For a hardwired central system, use its normal controls to turn cooling off rather than opening electrical equipment.
When service returns, follow your AC manufacturer’s restart procedure. If the system repeatedly trips a breaker, smells burned, or fails to cool, leave it off and arrange professional diagnosis instead of repeatedly trying to restart it.
Electrical surge protection can help reduce some electrical risks, but it does not provide backup power. Ask a qualified electrician about protection appropriate for your equipment and electrical panel.
Maintenance Helps, but Equipment Needs a Diagnosis
The U.S. Department of Energy recommends routine filter care and checking the evaporator coil as part of maintaining cooling performance. A professional inspection can assess airflow, coils, controls, and the condition of electrical components.
A repair recommendation should be based on what the technician finds. An outage alone does not establish that a capacitor or compressor has failed, and a tune-up cannot guarantee that a system will avoid every breakdown.
If rooms remain uncomfortable, ask for an assessment of the home as well as the AC. ENERGY STAR identifies leaking or poorly connected ducts as a cause of lost conditioned air, higher bills, and comfort problems. Addressing those issues may be part of the solution.
Plan for People as Well as Equipment
FEMA’s power-outage guidance recommends identifying places with air conditioning and planning which devices need backup power. If indoor heat becomes unsafe, use that plan rather than waiting indefinitely for a repair or utility crew.
Do not assume a small backup battery or portable generator can run your central AC. Have a qualified installer assess the loads you need to support. Fuel-powered generators must stay outdoors, at least 20 feet from building openings such as doors, windows, and garages; never operate one inside a home or garage.
Add these steps to your household’s heat action plan while you have time to prepare.
Get Your AC Ready for the Next Hot Spell
If your system struggled this summer, A/C Control can help assess its performance and identify needed maintenance or repairs. Contact us to schedule an inspection before the next stretch of extreme heat.
