Imperial Valley's high temperature soared to 121 degrees Saturday and more of the same is expected though Monday.

Yesterday's extreme heat and a shortage of energy resources caused the Imperial Irrigation District to institute rolling blackouts late Saturday afternoon and into the night. In a news release the IID referred to the blackouts as " Load Shedding " and are designed to protect the District's energy system by reducing the overall load on the system. In the news release , the IID said the areas affected by the temporary outages would see power shutdown for no more than 15 minutes but many customers reported outages of between 1 and 2 hours. The outages affected residential and commercial users in the Imperial and Coachella Valleys.

The National Weather Service Excessive Heat Warning is in effect through Monday evening with forecast highs between 115 and 120 degrees both days. The IID is asking customers to continue to conserve energy to lessen the need for more rolling blackouts. Among the measures recommended are to avoid using major appliances between the peak hours of 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Set thermostats at 78 when home and use floor and ceiling fans when possible. Turn off unnecessary lights and equipment and use blinds , shades or drapes to keep the sun from heating your house.