With temperatures soaring in the Southland and beyond, California residents are being asked to conserve power this evening in hopes of reducing strain on the state’s power grid.

According to the California Independent System Operator, or Cal-ISO, which manages the state’s power grid, the Flex Alert will be in effect from 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday.

A Flex Alert is a call for voluntary energy conservation, essentially a plea for residents across the state to cut their power use to reduce overall demand and lower the risk of outages.

Cal-ISO is urging residents to take steps prior to the alert taking effect, such as pre-cooling their homes, using major appliances and closing window coverings to preserve cool air indoors. Once the alert takes effect, residents should set their thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, avoid using major appliances and turn off all unnecessary lights.

Around midday Wednesday, Cal-ISO projected it would have adequate energy supplies through Thursday, although it urged residents “to remain vigilant” in case demand suddenly increased and threatened the availability of power reserves. But shortly after 2 p.m., Cal-ISO announced plans for the Flex Alert.

Triple-digit temperatures are expected across California and much of the U.S. West all week. Long Beach was only expected to hit a high of 79 degrees Thursday and Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

During a heat wave last August, California experienced rolling blackouts over two days, affecting hundreds of thousands of people for several hours. They were the first in 19 years, when blackouts in 2001 contributed to the recall of former Gov. Gray Davis.

Anne Gonzales, a spokeswoman for the grid operator, said the state’s power grid is better prepared this year than last year. California has roughly 3,000 to 3,500 megawatts of additional electricity—enough for 2.2 million to 2.6 million homes—coming online by this summer, she said.