How to conserve energy during a heat wave

Millions of Americans were under historic heat wave conditions this week -- driving up widespread use of air conditioning and putting pressure on overloaded power grids.

Millions of Americans were under historic heat wave conditions this week -- driving up widespread use of air conditioning and putting pressure on overloaded power grids. High temperatures on Thursday reached 95 degrees in Salt Lake City, 99 degrees in Denver, 113 degrees in Phoenix, 115 in Las Vegas, 121 degrees in Death Valley and 122 in Palm Springs, California. In Texas, where temperatures were slated to be in the mid- to high-90s for the majority of the week, residents were asked to cut back on energy use by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, which operates the state's electric grid. The early heat wave has presented a potential record power use for the month of June and has resulted in tight grid conditions and forced outages, ERCOT announced on Monday.