Plea to Public on Power Use

Crisis sparks request to douse holiday lights Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer Monday, December 11, 2000 ©2000 San Francisco Chronicle

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/12/11/MNW139479.DTL

California power officials braced for a possible energy calamity today by pleading with the public to shut off Christmas lights, clothes dryers and any other electricity-sucking item that's not absolutely necessary.

The Independent System Operator, which oversees the state's power grid, warned that rolling blackouts could go into effect if the state reaches another Stage 3 alert, as it did on Thursday. Stage 3 indicates that the state's power reserves have dropped to critically low levels, below 1.5 percent.

"Monday will be a very challenging day. Clearly we're still having problems, " ISO Communications Director Patrick Dorinson said yesterday. "Any lights you don't need on, get 'em off. That will be a big help."

Yesterday, for the seventh consecutive day, the ISO issued an emergency alert to warn that power reserves were low. At 11 a.m., a Stage 1 alert -- which means reserves have dipped below 7 percent -- was announced. By 5 p.m., reserves dropped to below 5 percent, prompting the ISO to reissue its alert as a Stage 2. The alert stayed in effect until 10 p.m.

The state stayed just shy of Stage 3 during the weekend because most energy- consuming businesses, such as factories and offices, were closed, officials said.

Part of the problem is that several of the state's power plants have been shut down for repairs, and the state is buying power from the Pacific Northwest to make up the difference. But because of a stubborn cold front up north, there's less power to share with California.

But in a bit of good news, Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant went partially online last night after being shut down by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for minor scheduled repairs over the weekend.

A spokesman for Pacific Gas & Electric Co., which operates Diablo Canyon near San Luis Obispo, said the plant would be fully online by noon today. The plant is a major energy provider for the state.

"Diablo Canyon coming back ... will be extremely helpful, but we're not out of the woods yet," said Dorinson.

Last week, officials warned that an Arctic front moving into California could have devastating effects on the power supply as people crank up their heaters and huddle indoors. But that scenario looks like a false alarm, as the National Weather Service is predicting normal temperatures for the week: highs in the 40s and 50s and lows in the 30s.

Still with a Stage 2 alert in effect, PG&E urged customers to turn off computers, lights, space heaters and electric ovens, dryers and water heaters, particularly during the peak power use period from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

"We don't want to be Grinches about it, but we're asking people to conserve as much as possible on a purely voluntary basis and in the spirit of being good citizens," said PG&E spokesman Jonathan Franks.

Christmas lights left on for long periods can add between $20 and $40 to a monthly bill, he said.

In addition to the icy weather up north and offline power plants, California's power shortage can be blamed on energy deregulation, the booming population and economy and the spiraling cost of natural gas, which most power plants use to operate, the ISO has said.

Because of higher natural gas prices, nearly everyone can expect to see higher bills from PG&E this winter. The average PG&E monthly residential bill is expected to jump from $50 last January to $75 this January, while large commercial customers could see their monthly bills go from $13,000 to $19,300.

The state has frozen the rates for electricity as part of deregulation legislation, but the freeze may be lifted as early as August, Franks said. After that, electricity rates will be subject to market prices as natural gas rates are now.

E-mail Carolyn Jones at carolynjones@sfchronicle.com.

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), December 11, 2000