Power outages force Clovis businesses to close down

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- One day your air conditioning could be working.

And the next day it's not.

That's not exactly the situation you'd want to be in when the temperatures are soaring well into the triple digits.

HVAC company owner Mitchell Tatarakis says this is his busy peak season.

"All of my guys' schedules are full, we are moving schedules around to get new customers in so we can take care of as many customers as we can," he says.

While temperatures are getting progressively cooler, units can still break down, he says - especially if they haven't been maintained or if they are simply over-heating in these hot temps.

"Once it gets over 100 degrees, the equipment starts to work really hard to keep up," he says.

Tatarakis suggests keeping your unit clean and filter changed.

On Tuesday, there were several outages throughout Clovis.

About 4,200 customers were without power here in Clovis on Tuesday, leaving homes without air and some businesses to close their doors in this heat wave.

House of Juju lost power along with their sister companies Papas Place and On the Edge.

A PG&E spokesperson says it could have been due to equipment failure as a result of the heat or to PG&E's power shut-off to protect equipment from overheating.

That outage caused House of Juju to close down all afternoon, which meant dozens of staff were not able to work.

"We had them clock out and go home, missing their entire shift, and we had contacted all of our night crew who hadn't started yet and let them know that we are not going to be open," says co-owner Justin Glenn.

Glenn took to social media to alert his customers about the forced shutdowns.

Despite the inconvenience, Glenn asks for a little grace.

"Be patient with everybody, be patient with our state as this happens. We can't control the weather, yet... We are here to serve people, we are here to serve our communities and that's what people are trying to do, but as long as the power stays on, we will keep doing it," he says.

The PG&E spokesperson also tells me you can pre-cool your home earlier in the day before it reaches that peak demand.