California Electric Company Answers Questions about `Rolling Blackouts' Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Publication date: 2000-12-07

Dec. 7--A number of California power plants are offline for maintenance, straining the state's supply of electricity. The Pacific Northwest is struggling to keep heaters running and is unable to sell California its usual amount of electricity. To help conserve, Southern California Edison is asking customers to delay turning on holiday lights until 8 p.m. State officials warn there could be "rolling blackouts." Here are some questions about that possibility: QUESTION: How much power do holiday lights use?

ANSWER: Southern California Edison estimates that one string of lights uses the same power as a 40-watt bulb. Officials say that holiday lights throughout Edison's 50,000-square-mile territory use up about 1,000 megawatts, enough to provide power to 1 million customers.

Q: When could blackouts be called?

A: Blackouts would begin when the state calls a Stage 3 alert. The state has called Stage 2 alerts on the last three days.

Q: What is a rolling blackout?

A: It is when the power company unilaterally turns off electricity to selected areas to save power. The blackouts are typically for one hour, then the power is restored and another area is turned off.

Q: How are these areas selected?

A: In Edison's territory, bits and pieces of cities are selected and assembled into 100-megawatt blocks. Each block contains 8,000 to 23,000 users spread over a wide territory. Officials would determine how many megawatts they need to conserve and then determine how many blocks need to go down and in what order.

Q: When would the outages likely be?

A: The outages would come at peak times, typically between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., when darkness hits and the lights go on.

Q: What should I do if power is shut off in my home?

A: Turn off any appliance that was on when the blackout occurred, except for one light bulb. This bulb will tell you when the power is back on. By turning everything off, you can avoid a power surge when the electricity is restored.

Q: How would outages affect police stations, hospitals and fire stations?

A: Police and fire stations are exempt from the blackouts. Hospitals with more than 100 beds also are exempt.

Q: What about businesses?

A: Businesses in the affected blocks would lose power. Some wouldn't be able to operate because their cash registers are powered by electricity.

Large retailers, such as Nordstrom, have backup generators.

Q: What happens if traffic lights go down?

A: Under California law, motorists must stop at the intersection when the traffic lights are down. Police in Santa Ana would would put out portable stop signs at intersections.

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), December 07, 2000

Answers

Pho just posted a stage 3 for California. So this is what you can expect.

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), December 07, 2000.