By Erin Stone | Arizona Republic
For the first time in nearly two decades, the federal government tapped Glen Canyon Dam for extra power generating capacity this weekend, triggering emergency water releases as heat waves persisted across the West.
As temperatures hit records in California, power providers turned to sources in Nevada, Utah and Arizona to cope with the surge in demand across its electrical grid.
The last time an emergency situation was invoked was in 2001, when California residents experienced major blackouts, cutting off electricity to more than 1 million people.
