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To: THE WATSONYOUTH who wrote (125561)	1/19/2001 3:15:35 AM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Where I am in New York, there are different rates for electricity depending on the time of day. During peak hours (8AM-8PM weekdays) you pay premium(.14985/kWh) rates. During non peak hours (8PM-8AM weekdays and all hours on weekends or holidays) you pay a MUCH lower (.04995/kWh) rate. The power company installs a special meter to be able to do this. I save about 25% off a standard flat rate billing by opting for this plan. I consciously try to reserve all high watt usage (washer/drier/stove/dishwasher/etc) to off peak hours. It really is easy when the benefits are so apparent and easy to understand. Of course, this isn't nearly so advanced as the west coast plan to ban fireplace usage on alternate days.....but we try here in New York to do our part. Do they have this in CA??? In Co??? THE WATSONYOUTH, They have had it in CA since at least 1990 and I suspect in most of the states in the West. It was well publicized during the drought in the early 90's (at least in S.Cal.) but I don't think many people know about it. Unfortunately CA's energy problems are beginning to effect the entire western grid and that may result in controlled rolling blackouts in the Pacific Northwest. In addition we in the PN are experiencing a drought which means we may not be able to ship power to CA on a consistent basis during this next summer.....which, of course, is CA's peak usage period. At one time the states surrounding CA had energy to spare but the great CA diaspora in the early 90's jacked up their growth rates so that much of the excess energy was eliminated. While the problems in CA are multifaceted, I think a major part of the problem is the inherent distrust that Californians have for most political and industry leaders. There was a property tax revolt in the 70's where property taxes were reduced substantially. Apparently, many political and industry leaders said during that time that passage of this tax reduction bill would cause CA to fall into economic turmoil and anarchy. Nonetheless, it pass with flying colors, and CA not only survived but prospered.....and the credibility of those leaders was seriously compromised. One result of that lost credibility is that it is very difficult to get a major public works project approved. That plus the environmental issues have prevented the development of any new power plants for the state in over ten years. To make matters even more grim, maintenance checks and run throughs are done on the state's power plants twice a year....November and April. Due to impromptu breakdowns during the past 6 months, its not been possible to take any plant off line and have it checked. Consequently the normal maintenance checks were skipped in November. Some of these plants are over 30 years old and can't afford to be run continuously without the necessary checks......very scary. For the West, recession may be the least of our problems. ted