Online Story (Dec 19, 2000) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Electric Power California remains in Stage 1 emergency

A Stage 1 emergency remained in effect Tuesday morning as the California Independent System Operator grappled with constraints on Path 15, the high-voltage transmission lines that feed electricity back and forth between northern and southern California. Meanwhile, negotiations are under way in Washington, DC, and Sacramento today among state and federal officials and California utilities on how to resolve the continuing crisis. US Energy Sec. Bill Richardson is also scheduled to meet Wednesday in Denver with western governors and energy executives on electricity issues. The Stage 1 emergency declaration, signifying reserves have fallen below 7%, is in effect until 10 p.m. PST. Demand is forecast to peak at 33,090 Mw. Early Tuesday morning the ISO issued a request for supplemental bids of 3,000 Mw. According to market operations, the problem is again associated with a power deficit in northern California. A bottleneck occurs on the lines when demand for power draws generation supply from southern California to the point power lines approach and sometimes exceed transmission capacity. The ISO asked participating transmission owners to notify utility distribution companies within their operational areas. that operating reserves are less than minimum and called for general conservation measures. It also advised the distribution companies to prepare for imminent implementation of interruptible load programs. Last week, the ISO battled to get power to the northern part of the state on Path 15, the frequently overloaded north-south transmission line. Twice during the week, California teetered on the edge of rolling blackouts as the ISO scrambled to find power that could be imported from the Northwest. The urgency of the situation led to an order by Richardson requiring 75 generators and marketers in the West to sell surplus power to California. The order is set to expire at 3 p.m. Thursday, unless Richardson extends it. Richardson initially acted Dec. 13 after power suppliers threatened to halt sales to California for fear they might not be paid by the state's biggest utilities, now strapped by more than $8 billion in power costs. California utilities have bought electricity at high wholesale prices but have not been able to pass the full amount to consumers because they are operating under a rate freeze. Talks are scheduled in Washington, DC, and Sacramento Tuesday among state and federal officials and California utilities on how much to raise electricity rates and on how to implement new contracting rules proposed in an order the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued Friday.

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

Answers

Posted at 9:41 p.m. PST Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2000

Power grid hampers needed supplies Graphic: California's power flow BY STEVE JOHNSON Mercury News Even on days when California has plenty of electricity, it's becoming increasingly hard to move that power to the Bay Area and other places where it's needed because of serious deficiencies along the state's sprawling network of high-voltage lines.

On Tuesday, the state suffered yet another close brush with blackouts when the loss of a major transmission line north of Los Angeles severely limited how much power could be shipped north from Southern California, which often produces more power than it requires. Similar emergencies occurred two weeks ago when another major line, which badly needs upgrading, couldn't carry enough Southern California power to satisfy demand in the north.

The problem has been brewing for months. The June 14 rolling blackouts that left nearly 100,000 Pacific Gas & Electric Co. customers without power in the Bay Area stemmed mostly from overheated transmission lines in Fremont.

Most experts blame California energy difficulties on a shortage of power plants. But they also note that the state's failure to upgrade its transmission lines -- because of environmental, cost and other concerns -- has contributed significantly to the problem. And given the dearth of new lines scheduled to be built in the state over the next few years, many people fear California could be in for bigger trouble in the future.

``There are very disturbing signs that California is not addressing . . . their problem,'' said Larry Makovich, an electricity specialist at Cambridge Energy Research Associates in Massachusetts. In some instances during critical emergencies, he added, ``you simply can't get the power from one place to another.''

Widespread problem

Karl Stahlkopf, vice president of power delivery for the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, said neglect of the high- voltage system is a problem across the country.

Over the last 10 years, he said, while transmission line capacity nationwide has increased about 15 percent, ``the demand for electricity has grown about 30 percent.'' Moreover, Stahlkopf said, that discrepancy is expected to widen over the next decade, with demand for electricity increasing at a rate at least five times faster than transmission lines are beefed up or built.

Despite its comparatively huge size and fast-growing population, California is expected to add far fewer new lines than many other states in the West, according to the Western Systems Coordinating Council, which helps monitor the flow of power across the region. Through 2008, the council predicts that California will add only 199 of the 2262 miles of high-voltage lines that are expected to be erected across the region.

California tends to face more opposition from environmentalists and those who live or work near the lines.

While such objections also are common in other states, ``California is probably worse in allowing new lines to be built,'' said Bill Comish, a senior official at the council. ``It tends to get my hackles up.''

That opposition can be a major obstacle for executives at utility companies, which own most of the 670,000 miles of major transmission lines nationwide. But expense is a huge factor, too, with the construction costs for typical 500,000-volt lines running about $2 million per mile. On top of that, the federal government limits how much transmission-line owners can charge others to move their power over those lines.

All in all, Comish said, ``when you consider the battle you have to fight to build it vs. what you get in return, a lot of people don't think it's worth it.''

Energy choked off

Take the line known as ``Path 15,'' which runs north and south through California. Over most of its length, it consists of three separate 500,000 volt lines. But over a large portion of its route south of Los Banos it squeezes down to only two lines, according to Armando Perez, director of grid planning for the California Independent System Operator, which manages the flow of power over most of the state.

During recent periods of critical energy demand -- when Northern California has needed a shot of power from the south -- that bottleneck has been akin to a three-lane highway narrowing to two lanes at rush hour, he said. For that reason, Perez considers it the worst electrical choke-point in the state.

But adding another line would be no simple matter. Perez estimated the cost at up to $300 million and said it could take years to buy the land, obtain the necessary permits and get it built.

PG&E, which owns Path 15, has known about its shortcomings for years, according to Jeff Butler, the company's vice president of operations, maintenance and construction. But he said California used to be able to get more of the power it needed in emergencies from the Pacific Northwest.

That power has become more limited in recent weeks, because of a shortage of water to run the Pacific Northwest's hydroelectric dams and its own growing electricity needs. Still, Butler said he wasn't sure whether a third 500,000-volt line would be added to Path 15.

Butler stressed, however, that PG&E is beefing up many lower-voltage lines feeding power into and around the Bay Area, which is considered particularly vulnerable to transmission-line disruptions because it imports much of the power it uses.

Compounding the problem of building new transmission lines is the jumble of different jurisdictions in which they are located and the variety of entities that own them.

The nation's electric grid is overseen by more than 3,000 public and private utilities and other organizations.

To make the system more manageable, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has proposed setting up so-called regional transmission organizations. Proponents of the idea say that could be especially useful in assessing where new transmission lines are needed and ensuring they get built.

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), December 20, 2000.