Rolling Blackouts - Again

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Rolling Blackouts - Again

Some Power Shut Off To Prevent Wider Outage Californians Stock Up On Flashlights Governor Signs Emergency Order To Prevent Bankruptcy Of Utilities

SACRAMENTO, Jan. 18, 2001 (CBS) California cut off power to thousands of people for a second straight day Thursday as lawmakers rushed to enact emergency legislation to buy electricity at taxpayer expense and keep the lights on.

Californians stocked up on flashlights, generators and firewood as the northern half of the state was struck by rolling blackouts. The outages were expected to affect one million customers at a time for at least an hour.

The blackout order could be expanded to the south, said Stephanie McCorkle, a spokeswoman for the Independent System Operator, keeper of the state's power grid.

"It really feels like deja vu today," McCorkle said. "We are living hour by hour here."

The blackouts, which came two hours earlier than those on Wednesday and affected twice as many people, were prompted by the loss of about 1,000 megawatts from Oregon's Bonneville Power Administration. One megawatt is enough to power 1,000 homes.

Shedding Some Light A shortage of power plants, rising natural gas prices, steadily increasing demand for power, and regulations on how wholesalers and consumers should pay for power are all key factors in the California power crisis. There had been signs it was going to be another bad day. The ISO declared a Stage 3 alert just one minute after midnight as power reserves dipped toward 1.5 percent.

The ISO ordered the first blackouts in the state's months-long energy crisis on Wednesday. Hundreds of thousands of northern and central California residents saw everything from their lights to their heaters, computers, elevators and bank machines abruptly switched off as power reserves dropped below 1 percent.

Power was shut off to as many as a half-million customers at a time, affecting homes and businesses in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Sacramento, Modesto and others cities.

Gov. Gray Davis declared a state of emergency and ordered the state to temporarily start buying power from wholesalers and provide it to power-short and financially strapped utilities. The Legislature was expected to pass the bailout plan Thursday.

An unstable market, deregulation, the Pacific Northwest's limited supplies of hydroelectric power and the utilities' financial problems are all contributing to the crisis.

The two largest utilities, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Edison, have both defaulted on millions in dollars in bills and lender payments.

Adding to potential problems, PG&E officials say they may have to cut off natural gas supplies to customers that include electricity plants. That's according to a report in the San Jose Mercury News.

The move could come within days because gas suppliers are threatening to stop dealing with the cash-starved utility out of fear of not being paid, PG&E President Gordon Smith said.

Davis' emergency order allows the state Department of Water Resources to buy power, something he called a "bridge to a long-term solution." He did not mention making utilities pay for the power, which could cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars over the next few days.

Davis called on the Legislature to authorize a longer-term plan to buy power and provide it to utilities. Otherwise, power suppliers may call in their debts on PG&E and SoCal Edison, forcing them into bankruptcy.

On Wednesday, state regulators came within 1,300 megawatts - enough electricity to power 1.3 million homes - of ordering the first statewide blackouts since World War II.

Automated teller machines along several blocks of downtown San Francisco shut down and at least two students were trapped in an elevator that stopped between floors at the city's Hastings School of Law. The students eventually used a ladder to climb out.

Power was kept on at such essential facilities as hospitals and airports.

The utilities have been scrambling to bring in power from outside California, including Canada, where Vancouver's B-C Hydro confirms it is among the emergency suppliers.

In Washington on Thursday, Energy Secretary designate Spencer Abraham said President-elect Bush viewed California's power crisis as "an urgent priority" but it was too early to speculate on any federal government action.

In San Francisco, city officials Thursday announced plans to take their energy woes to court. The city intends to file suit against 13 energy producers, accusing them of manipulating supplies to keep energy prices high.

The action follows the filing of a similar lawsuit on Tuesday, by three San Diego water districts. They are accusing three power companies of withholding power in order to create an artificial shortage and cause prices to skyrocket.

http://cbsnews.cbs.com/now/story/0,1597,221065-412,00.shtml

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), January 18, 2001


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