CA:Utilities pull the plug on thousands

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Heat Threat to Power Grid Utilities pull the plug on thousands to protect state's electricity flow Bay Area air quality regulators say it's another `Spare the Air Day'

Michael Taylor, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, September 19, 2000

A suffocating blanket of hot air enveloped much of California yesterday, bringing scorching temperatures that forced utilities to cut electricity to thousands of customers.

More stifling heat is expected today, and state power regulators said they may have to pull the plug on customers across California once again to protect the electrical grid.

The sweltering heat broke records in three cities as the mercury raced toward the triple digits.

It hit 92 in Oakland, eclipsing the 1984 record of 88. Redwood City reached 97, topping the record of 93 set in 1984. Kentfield broiled under 101 degree temperatures that broke 1995's record of 96 degrees.

Even San Francisco reached 91, just three degees shy of the 1912 record of 94.

The blistering heat taxed California's electrical grid, prompting utility regulators to cut the juice to about 1,700 companies statewide.

ELECTRICAL BLACKOUTS

The Independent System Operator, the nonprofit agency that oversees the flow of power throughout California, declared a ``Stage 2`` emergency at 1 p.m. That brought voluntary blackouts by commercial and industrial customers that agree to the shutdowns in exchange for reduced utility bills.

The Stage 2 emergency prompted Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to cut power to 200 of its 4.6 million customers, said agency spokeswoman Staci Homrig.

ISO regulators lifted the Stage 2 alert at 6 p.m. They will meet this morning to determine whether additional blackouts are needed, said Patrick Dorinson, ISO spokesman.

If the scorching temperatures continue, the ISO may declare a ``Stage 3'' emergency and initiate rolling blackouts that would cut power to residential and business customers all over the state.

``The possibility of a Stage 3 is very real,'' Dorinson said. ``It's hour to hour about whether to go to Stage 3.''

The ISO declared a Stage 3 emergency in Northern California on June 14, but it has never called one on a statewide basis.

The heat wave caused unplanned blackouts in Brisbane and Fairfield about 5:30 p.m. PG&E said they were caused by a sudden demand for power as people switched on their air conditioners after work.

AIR QUALITY SUFFERS

All that heat didn't do anything for the air, either. Bay Area air quality regulators declared yesterday a ``Spare the Air Day'' and said they will do the same today.

The heat wave was caused by ``a very strong ridge of high pressure over the eastern Pacific and California,'' that has a huge air mass that is ``warmer than standard,'' said Jim Carroll, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

``What's going on,'' he said, ``is that hot air is coming from higher elevations and sinks to sea level. When it sinks, it compresses and that has the effect of warming it.''

Normally, Carroll said, sea breezes along the coast have ``a cooling effect,'' but because of the ``weather pattern we have, we have limited sea breezes, and so we can't rely on that normal cooling. It's a lot like being in the Central Valley.''

So it will probably be just as hot today as it was yesterday. Things should start to cool off by Thursday, Carroll said.

Yesterday's merciless weather forced the fortunate ones to turn air conditioners on and the rest to seek cool shelter anywhere they could find it.

SENIOR CENTERS EXTEND HOURS

In San Jose, emergency officials extended the hours of air-conditioned community and senior centers to give especially vulnerable elderly residents a place to stay cool. Water and snacks were also provided at centers that will stay open at least until 8:30 p.m. on days when the mercury hits 95 degrees, said Frannie Winslow, San Jose's emergency preparedness director.

In San Mateo County, health officials visited nursing homes to make sure patients were being protected from the heat.

The review comes after three heat-related deaths at the SunBridge Care and Rehabilitation's Burlingame site led to a $141,000 state fine and two lawsuits.

``Our purpose for the visit is not to find something wrong, but to find out what (facility staff) need in the way of help,'' said Charlene Silva , director of county aging and adult services.

In Oakland, fifth-grader Marissa Smith, who was wearing blue jeans, sweltered through the day in her Cole Elementary School classroom, which was cooled only by a fan.

``In the morning, the kids were warning me how I was going to be hot,'' she said. ``. . . Now, I'm warned that I should wear shorts.''

MARIN'S GOOSE LADY

It was so hot yesterday in Marin that the geese had to be hosed down. Sigrid Boehm, better known as the ``goose lady'' of Marin, said the 15-pounder named Gordo would have been a cooked goose without the hosing she gave him.

``My poor old Gordo really suffers in the heat,'' said Boehm, who takes care of 33 abandoned and injured domestic geese. ``We had to hose him down several times during the day. They all love the hosing, in fact. The geese come up and just stand there under the hose. They let the water run onto their back and then they turn around and drink it. They like watermelon, too.''

In Contra Costa County, Shauntel Gould was unapologetic. Despite warnings from California energy officials to lay off the heavy appliances during the heat wave, Gould was doing her laundry yesterday afternoon at Launderland in Pittsburg.

``I don't have a choice,'' said the 27-year-old bank supervisor. ``Today's my day off.'' While Gould was laundering in the triple-digit heat, back home her air conditioner was running full blast. Again, no apologies. ``I know, I'm bad. But c'mon, it's hot. If I run it while I'm gone, my place will be nice and cool when I come back.''

In Novato, firefighters said the two houses that were burned in a fire Sunday both had wild grass growing inches from their homes. The homes that were farther away from the grass did not burn. Fire officials say homeowners should keep a 30-foot buffer between their homes and long grass.

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EMERGENCY PROCEDURES FOR ELECTRICITY USE When it gets really hot in California, electricity use soars, and eventually a little-known agency called the California Independent System Operator -- known as the ISO -- has to step in and sometimes shut down power to selected customers so the state's electricity barrel is not emptied.

The ISO consists of utility officials, power plant operators and commercial and industrial power customers. It operates much of the state's utility grid. The ISO has three power emergency ``stages:''

-- Stage 1: Energy reserves fall below 7 percent. Consumers are asked to turn off lights and some appliances voluntarily.

-- Stage 2: Reserves fall below 5 percent. Power may be interrupted to some heavy users.

-- Stage 3: Energy reserves nearly depleted. Rolling blackouts may begin. (Has never been called on a statewide basis.)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/09/19/MN78278.DTL

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 19, 2000

Answers

Heat should peak today

The state's power supplies teetered on the brink
of rolling blackouts Monday while the region
sweltered through a second day of off-the-chart
temperatures.

. . .

Electricity suppliers aren't breathing a sigh of
relief just yet. The strain on the power grid is
likely to continue through Wednesday, as the
surge in demand continues.

. . .

The outages are supposed to rotate every hour
or two, so that no customer carries the brunt of
it, she said. Hospitals, fire stations and other
emergency services are exempt from the
outages. Likewise, anyone whose business or
home is on the same circuit as one of those
emergency services will not be affected by the
rolling outages.

. . .

ISO spokesman Dorinson said the best solution
was for customers to heed the calls to conserve
energy. The last statewide blackout was Aug.
10, 1996, when power was out for about nine
hours across most of California.

Contra Costa Times

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), September 19, 2000.


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