Calif. kicks off summer with a power alert
Wednesday May 28, 7:58 pm ET
By James Jelter
(Recasts, adds ISO comments, paragraphs 5-8)
SAN FRANCISCO, May 28 (Reuters) - California energy officials declared a power emergency on Wednesday -- the first in nearly a year -- in what could be the start of another long, hot summer for the energy-starved state.
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Despite state officials' assurances of adequate power, heavy air conditioning during the year's first heat wave nearly depleted supplies, prompting calls for emergency energy from generators and public pleas to save energy.
California's 35 million residents, hit by blackouts and daily calls to douse lights during the state's 2000-01 energy crisis, have not weathered a power alert since July 10, 2002.
The Stage One alert, the lowest on the state's three-tiered power emergency plan, was declared through 8 p.m. Pacific Time (11 p.m. Eastern) by the California Independent System Operator, the group that manages the high-voltage power grid.
ISO spokesman Gregg Fishman explained temperatures statewide had been running much higher than forecast, leaving too little power to go around.
But the situation was easing as the sun slipped lower in the sky and blackouts were not seen as a likely threat.
"We're definitely over the hump," Fishman said, adding the weather was forecast to cool slightly on Thursday.
"Theoretically things should be better tomorrow," he said.
Power demand typically peaks on hot summer days at around 4 p.m. when air conditioning siphons off about a third of all the megawatts on the grid.
And air conditioners got a good workout Wednesday, with temperatures in inland cities like Fresno, Bakersfield and suburbs east of Los Angeles topping 100 degrees F (38 C), a blistering early taste of summer.
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The alert caught most Californian's off guard.
Within the past week a variety of state officials reassured residents that power shortages were unlikely this summer following an aggressive campaign to build new power plants, conserve energy, and sort out the volatile electricity market.
Earlier Wednesday, a report by the California Energy Commission claimed the state appeared in good shape and that power demand "will be reliably served ... through 2004-2006."
The commission plays a key role in planning energy policy and is responsible for licensing new power plants.
Meanwhile, the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates investor-owned utilities in the state, appealed to residents to conserve electricity.
"We are expecting a hotter than normal summer, and energy efficiency and conservation are a large part of our energy action plan," said Sheri Inouye, spokeswoman for the CPUC. (Additional reporting by Nigel Hunt, Los Angeles, and Leonard Anderson, San Francisco) |
