Early cold spell triggers California stage 2 energy crisis

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Early cold spell triggers California stage 2 energy crisis

11/29/2000 By Elisabeth Reisch, Electra Public Relations Higher than usual heat demand for this time of year coupled with an estimated 12,000 megawatts of energy generation off line due to planned and unplanned maintenance has already reduced California energy operating reserves to alert levels. The California Independent System Operator (ISO) issued stage 1 or stage 2 electrical emergencies each day during the week before Thanksgiving with no relief in sight. The drop in temperatures could continue the energy crisis that interrupted businesses this summer.

A stage 1 emergency is required when the state’s electricity operating reserves fall below seven percent. A stage 2 is declared when reserves drop below five percent, and large commercial customers that have signed up to voluntarily curtail power during high demand days will be asked to do so. If an operating reserve shortfall of less than one-and-a-half percent is unavoidable, stage 3 is initiated. Involuntary curtailments of service to customers including “rotating blackouts” are possible during this emergency declaration.

It cost California businesses $1 million per hour to $1 million per second in lost revenue during the summer energy crisis when stage 3 alerts were issued according to such organizations as Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group and the EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute).

“It’s important to note that it is not just the power outage alone that can be damaging,” said Bob Moore, Compaq Computer Corporation’s group marketing manager of rack and power management products. “When power does come back on, it usually comes in a surge and then goes back to nominal levels. Those surges can damage equipment. So, we advise everyone to remember to protect critical equipment with an uninterruptible power system that protects against both blackouts and surges.”

http://www.electricnet.com/content/news/article.asp?DocID={7FC462C3-C56D-11D4-8C82-009027DE0829}&Bucket=HomeLatestHeadlines&VNETCOOKIE=NO

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), November 29, 2000


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