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Hot weather sparks power shortage
By Myra P. Saefong, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 1:37 PM ET May 7, 2001
FOLSOM, Calif. (CBS.MW) - Hot weather sparked a major power shortage in California Monday, with the state's power grid operator urging consumer conservation in order to avoid forced outages.
The shortage Monday could be only the start of a long week of high electricity demand, with temperatures in the state expected to reach highs in the 90s in many areas of the state.
The California Independent System Operator issued a "Stage Two" alert at 10 a.m. Pacific time, signaling operating reserves below 5 percent of what's needed to keep the power grid stable.
The Cal ISO blamed the shortage on a spike in air conditioner usage as the state suffered from the hottest temperatures seen so far this year.
A total of 13,500 megawatts, or enough power to supply up to 13.5 million homes for one hour, were offline Monday due to preventative repairs and plant malfunctions, a press release from the Cal ISO said.
About 3,000 of the megawatts offline were attributed to payments due to small, independent generating plants known as qualifying facilities.
The state's largest investor-owned utilities, Pacific Gas & Electric (PCG: news, msgs, alerts) and Southern California Edison (EIX: news, msgs, alerts) have been unable to buy enough power for their customers because they lack the cash and credit to do so.
Prior to an order late March from the California Public Utilities Commission, the utilities had been, at best, making partial payments to the qualifying facilities. Under the CPUC order, the utilities began making payments to those generators within 15 days of power delivery, although the issue of past debts has not yet been fully addressed. |
