December 6, 2000

FOLSOM – The keeper of the state's power grid declared a Stage Two power emergency Wednesday morning at 7 a.m., just 40 minutes after declaring a Stage One emergency.

It was the seventh Stage Two emergency in the last three weeks and the second in as many days.

Pat Dorinson, spokesman for the Independent System Operator, said although the 7 a.m. declaration was unusual, it was not unheard of. Most Stage Two emergencies are declared in the afternoon or early evening, when electricity usage peaks.

"This might be a short one today, you never now. When the reserves fall, we have to declare it," Dorinson said.

A Stage Two emergency is called when power reserves fall below 5 percent or are expected to.

The alert means that electricity users are asked to conserve energy. The ISO requested that holiday lights be kept off until 7 p.m. when power needs are expected to drop.

"We understand it's the holidays and we just ask for help to not put the lights on until 7 tonight. The public helped prevent more serious shortages yesterday," Dorinson said.

More than 11,000 megawatts of power remain off-line in California, in part because of repairs. Peak usage was expected to be 34,226 megawatts around 6 p.m. Wednesday night.

A Stage Three emergency could be declared if power reserves fall below 1.5 percent. If that happens, rolling blackouts are possible.

The Stage Two emergency was expected to last through noon Wednesday, followed with a Stage One alert until 10 p.m.

-- What's next? (Quakes@Dark.Medflys), December 07, 2000

Answers

What's next? (Quakes@Dark.Medflys),

Glassy-winged sharpshooters, silly.

{What did I win?}

http://danr.ucop.edu/news/MediaKit/GWSS.shtml

"Glassy-winged sharpshooter and Pierce's disease

Glassy-winged sharpshooter (Homalodisca coagulata) is a serious new agricultural pest in California. When feeding, it can transmit Pierce's disease to grapevines, and other diseases to almond trees, alfalfa, citrus and oleanders. First sighted in the state in 1990, this insect has spread throughout Southern California and into the southern San Joaquin Valley.

The glassy-winged sharpshooter and the diseases it carries pose a serious threat to the California viticulture industry, as well as to other crops throughout the state."

-- flora (***@__._), December 07, 2000.

A biblical plague of glassy-eyed fartshooters.

-- (nemesis@awol.com), December 07, 2000.

I think I shall refrain from hanging Christmas lights this year. I can only imagine how much extra juice is required during the holidays. Especially since lights are the cheapest I've ever seen them.

-- cin (cin@cin.cin), December 07, 2000.

They do make battery-powered Christmas lights, Cin. I bought a battery operated candle and several small strings of lights, which I use in my hallway where there aren't any plugs. It's nice not tripping over extension cords. I got mine at the Dollar Store.

-- (raven@never.more), December 07, 2000.

for running those outdoor Christmas lights, you could always borrow a doomer's generator. They're supposed to let those things run periodically. Might as well do something useful while they're running.

-- (raven@never.more), December 07, 2000.

Couple of reasons for this nonsense. Every winter the otherwise plentiful power shipped down here from the northwest gets somewhat interrupted by bad weather. Biggest reason is a pissing contest between owners of 3 SoCal plants currently running at 50% capacity and the AQMD. The AQMD (Air Quality Management District) spanked these plants with fine threats because they didn't have enough pollution credits (another horror story) to cover their exhausts. Owners countered by running at half throttle. The thought of forcing higher rates to help cover last summers debacle wasn't lingering in the backs of their minds...right. Lotsa plant owners now.

Ya know, sometimes there isn't anything wrong with a well run monopoly and this deregulation shit is getting downright annoying.

-- Carlos (riffraff@cybertime.net), December 07, 2000.

Thursday December 7 10:04 PM ET Calif. on Verge of Rolling Power Blackouts

By Nigel Hunt

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The California Independent System Operator (ISO) on Thursday declared an unprecedented so-called stage three power emergency but thanks to federal action managed to narrowly escape without having to order rolling blackouts across the state.

``We believe we have averted blackouts. The load is now falling,'' spokesman Patrick Dorinson said.

The ISO, which operates around 75 percent of the state's power grid, has never before issued a stage three alert, which is ordered if operating reserves drop to such dangerously low levels that there is a threat the grid could totally collapse.

Federal agencies took emergency action following the declaration which was made at 5:15 p.m. with the Western Area Power Administration, the California Department of Water Resources and the Bonneville Power Administration providing an additional 500 megawatts of power.

In a crisis, BPA can declare an emergency under the Endangered Species Act and divert extra water through massive turbines at its hydropower dams. Such action can endanger salmon swimming along the rivers which feed the dams.

``The California ISO is hopeful that these additional resources will help avoid rotating blackouts throughout the state,'' the agency said.

The agency said higher than usual consumer demand at this time of year coupled with more than 11,000 MW of generation off line and a decrease in imported power had jeopardized the operating reserves necessary to maintain grid reliability.

A shortage of both water and natural gas contributed to the latest crisis.

The water shortage had reduced flows through the massive hydropower dams in the Pacific Northwest while the region is also heavily dependent on power from gas-fired power plants.

Natural gas prices at the southern California border, a major delivery point for gas, have been skyrocketing during the past few days.

They traded on Thursday at more than $50.00 per million British thermal units, up from less than $6.00 last month and about five times the current price of gas elsewhere in the United States.

Many expect the crisis to worsen next week when a sharp drop in temperatures is forecast and the amount of power used for heating should rise significantly.

Earlier Thursday, Sempra Energy chief executive officer Stephen Baum called on Gov. Gray Davis to exercise emergency powers including lifting emission restriction which have cut output from some plants.

``Since Monday of this week, each day, our state's electrical system has been on the verge of collapse. Next week, conditions may worsen when a severe cold front is expected to hit the western United States,'' Baum said in a letter to Davis.

The state's power crisis has been caused partly by the nation's buoyant economy which has increased demand for power not just in California but also in the surrounding states.

There have also been no significant new power plants built in California during the last decade, partly due to uncertainly surrounding the deregulation of its electricity industry.

California blazed the trail for electricity deregulation in the U.S. but skyrocketing prices and reliability concerns had led to some calls for re-regulation.

-- Seeker (searching@low.and.high), December 08, 2000.

I've got Xmas lights hanging EVERYWHERE! So do my neighbors! Last year everyone was waiting for Y2K. Everyone here sacrificed last year, but this year, it's in your face! If the lights go out, so what, we are prepared! Got's lotsa propane, kerosene, candles, lamp oil, food, bring it on PG&E & SCE we're ready for ya! P.S. Thank you Gary North and Ed Yourdon!

-- Mrs. Cleaver (Mrs. Cleaver@LITBBBBB.vcom), December 08, 2000.