Power dips by a blip BEE STAFF REPORTS (Published: Sunday, July 30, 2000)

While temperatures in Modesto didn't crack the century mark Saturday, it seemed hot enough to create a surge in electricity consumption for the Modesto Irrigation District.

The extra power usage, combined with an afternoon car crash into a high-voltage power line near Vintage Faire Mall created a power dip just after 4 p.m.

"We had a little blip on the system," said Maree Hawkins, spokeswoman with the MID. "Because a lot of air conditioners were being used at the time, combined with the crash, it caused a dip in power to customers."

Hawkins said many customers experienced a dimming of lights, but not complete outages. Hawkins said several businesses east of McHenry also had burglar and fire alarms go off. There were very few power outages reported, but Hawkins could not give an exact number.

While temperatures weren't extraordinarily hot, Hawkins said the humidity was higher than normal ranging from 28 percent to 52 percent.

Modesto's high Saturday was 97.

http://www.modbee.com/metro/story/0,1113,181696,00.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), July 30, 2000