California experiencing a second straight day of rolling blackouts

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http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/ca_powerwoes010320.html

Blackouts Ordered Again

After First Blackouts Since January, Californians Still Use More Power

March 20 - California is experiencing a second straight day of rolling blackouts, as temperatures in parts of the state were predicted to hit 90 and consumers showed no restraint despite having the lights turned out on Monday.

Officials at California's Independent System Operator (ISO), which monitors the state's power grid, ordered the rolling blackouts at around 9:30 a.m. PST, after warning consumers earlier in the day that more conservation was needed.

Shortly after 7 a.m., ISO officials said state residents had consumed 300 megawatts more power than they had through the same time on Monday, and with another hot day expected, warned that rolling blackouts could start as early at 10 a.m. PST.

It didn't take that long.

"A lot depends on what all of California does in terms of conserving energy," ISO vice president Jim Detmers said. "Most likely we will be seeing interruptions for several hours over the morning sessions, and then again in the evening. Those are generally the peak hours.

The state was in a Stage Two alert overnight, after the ISO called a Stage Three alert at midday Monday because of increased temperatures, a higher power demand and a lack of electricity from the Northwest. As Californians went off to work this morning, the ISO once again had to issue a Stage Three alert and order rolling blackouts.

With the peak energy usage period of the summer still months away, the renewed blackouts do not bode well for the state's energy picture.

"We clearly cannot get through this year unless consumers reduce their electric usage by 10 percent of last year," California Gov. Gray Davis said. "That is not hard. You just turn off the lights when you leave a room, turn off the TV when you stop using it, turn off the computer or at least put it on sleep mode when you're not using it and turn the temperature down 3 or 4 degrees."

A fire that knocked out a plant in Southern California was partly responsible for the severity of the situation on Monday. Further complicating matters were two power plants that were shutdown, one for maintenance and the other for unpaid bills, officials said. One plant could be back on line around noon, and another could come back at midnight, Detmers said.

On Monday, the lights were turned out at noon in approximately 1,000,000 homes, including some in Beverly Hills. The outage last until 4.04 p.m. But two hours later, rolling blackouts were ordered again, and lasted a little more than an hour, Detmers said.

Dinner by Candlelight

The ISO ordered Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison, two of the state's biggest utility companies, to cut a total of 500 megawatts of electricity on Monday.

ISO spokeswoman Stephanie McCorkle said the outages were split between Northern and Southern California. A spokesman for Southern California Edison said the blackouts were affecting the Los Angeles-area cities of Chino, Beverly Hills, Long Beach, Visalia, Banning, Kern and Santa Monica.

The ISO last ordered rolling blackouts on Jan. 17 and 18, which affected more than 675,000 homes and businesses in Northern California for more than two hours at a time. Hospitals and airports were exempt from the blackouts.

No major problems were reported as a result of the blackouts, though when the lights went out in some businesses, people were sent home. Some restaurants took advantage of the situation to offer diners a more romantic experience, serving dinner by candlelight.

"It's the most fun we've had for what? All day," East Bay resident Lara Sera said.

Summer of Darkness Forecasted

Officials from SoCal Edison and PG&E say they have lost $13 billion since last year because of the high cost of wholesale energy. Energy wholesalers have been reluctant to provide power to cash-strapped companies because they fear they will not be paid.

Davis has committed $2.7 billion for power purchases, which will be repaid when the state issues an estimated $10 billion in revenue bonds approved for less expensive, longer-term power contracts in May.

Still, natural gas supplies are low, water supplies are down, and heat waves are expected to drive up the demand for power. Californians are bracing for power shortages and rolling blackouts into the summer as the peak demand for power is expected to exceed supplies from May through September.

Monday's rolling blackouts came as Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham warned that summer blackouts would not be the end of California's power problems.

Speaking before the Chamber of Commerce's National Energy Summit in Washington D.C., Abraham said California's energy crisis could affect the nation and last for decades to come. Abraham also defended the Bush administration's desire to tap the natural oil reserve in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

"California is just a sign of the what's to come if we don't diversify our energy resources," he said. "The failure to meet this challenge will threaten our nation's economic prosperity, will compromise our national security and literally alter the way we live our lives."



-- (in@energy.news), March 20, 2001

Answers

No power loss as of yet here in way-south orange county. But I'll keep you posted if we do.

Wouldn't it be kinda funny if there were blackouts during the Oscars on sunday? heehee

-- (cin@cin.cin), March 20, 2001.


From an outsider's perspective, this is all rather comical. All these problems -- blackouts, bankrupt utilities, price gouging, lack of capacity, inadequate maintenance. And every one of these problems has the same simple and obvious cure -- let the consumers pay the genuine market value of what they consume! Even at this late date, it would lead to instant conservation and we wouldn't read that "consumers showed no restraint despite having the lights turned out on Monday."

But..but..but that would cost *votes*! Voters don't *want* to have to *pay* for what they buy. That's unfair! Let someone *else* pay for it! MAKE someone else pay for it. Otherwise, we'll vote your ass right out of office.

So California politicians do what politicians do everywhere -- postpone the problem as long as they can, hide the true cost as well as they can, try to blame others, and above all cover their asses. And so we'll see a dark summer in California.

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), March 20, 2001.


Flint:

If you really want to see the basis of the problem, it lies here:

downtime.

Plus the fact that the BPA has cut of export.

None

-- none (none@other.xxx), March 20, 2001.


none:

I don't think so. These systems are supposed to be set up so that a predictable amount of downtime can coincide with normal offline maintenance, without running out of juice. But too many of these plants haven't received adequate maintenance lately. Maintenance is always one of the first things to be cut, for any reason.

So saying unplanned downtime is the "basis" of the problem is like saying throwing ballast overboard is the reason a hot air balloon flies. For a decade the situation has grown tighter and more precarious, until even slight misfortune can push it over the edge. But you can't blame the slight misfortune. Those are symptoms more than they are causes.

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), March 20, 2001.


none, dontcha know, flint {thinks he} knows EVERYTHING. {major eye roll ova heeyah}

-- (cin@cin.cin), March 20, 2001.


I will have to go with cin and say BULLSHIT flint. These things include transformer explosions, among other equipment failures. California has more than enough capacity, it just needs to get it running. If this doesn't fit your paradigm, I am sorry.

As for me, I will go with the facts rather than speculation. Good point Cin.

none

-- none (none@other.xxx), March 20, 2001.


none:

So you claim California's attempt at "deregulation" had nothing to do with their current problems, that it's just a run of bad luck, some transformer explosions happened and otherwise everything would be just peachy? And despite everything that has been said in every story so far written about the problem, all of which flat contradict you, you claim to base this opinion on the "facts"?

I agree that California has had an atypical run of downtime. It's also been reported that California has had an atypical lack of maintenance for various reasons. Usually lack of maintenance leads to breakdowns. I suppose we should ignore the power professionals, however. They lack the "facts". They point out that no new capacity has come online in over a decade, while the state population has grown substantially. But this doesn't count, because it's not a fact you want to consider.

Meanwhile, look at little cin over there. Pay competetive rates? Bullshit! Let's attack those who notice that you get what you pay for. Make it someone else's fault!

Meanwhile, enjoy what you've chosen to pay for. You deserve it.

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), March 20, 2001.


Flint:

Look at the list of people with downtime. We let them sell production facilities to people in the southeast. They are obviously greedy or incompetent by region. Answer that one.

none

-- none (none@other.xxx), March 20, 2001.


The "we" and the "they" are key here none. "We" been dumb and "they been smart.

Anyone up for a 'right to electricity' campaign? An ammendment to the constitution perhaps.

-- Carlos (riffraff@cybertime.net), March 21, 2001.


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