CA: Report warns of low gas supplies

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Tuesday, June 12, 2001 Report warns of low gas supplies By Seth Hettena Associated Press SAN DIEGO - California's energy crisis could overwhelm supplies of natural gas, which fires most power plants, leading to shortages this summer, the state's energy planning and policy-making agency has warned. • Bomber's fate draws strong reaction • Poly running backs coach, 36, dead • Murder case dismissed on flawed evidence • High-power electricity burns four • Compton man given life sentence • Treason attempt tied to L.B. • Anaheim St. targets liquor, guns • School move to be discussed • Vote set on Downey hospital • Downey man dies in wreck • For Millikan seniors, school was always No. 1 • Report warns of low gas supplies • Yosemite handyman in court A severe drought in the Pacific Northwest has cut hydroelectric power supplies and forced natural gas-fired plants to make up the shortfall. The demand for gas has strained the ability of existing pipelines to supply it.

In the event of even stronger demand this summer, the California Energy Commission says, utilities could be forced to interrupt supplies to power generators.

"Under the high gas use scenario for electric generator demand, curtailments and diversions of natural gas will be necessary this summer and into the winter of 2001-2002," according to a draft report by the commission.

California generators are responsible for buying and storing their own supplies of natural gas.

"Curtailment of natural gas supplies to electric generators could exacerbate rolling blackouts this summer," the commission found. "At the same time curtailments of industrial customers could increase the economic impacts from lost production."

The commission's draft report was released last month but has received little notice. A final report is expected by the end of this month, Michal Moore, one of five members of the California Energy Commission, said Monday.

Also Monday, Gov. Gray Davis signed an executive order letting natural gas-fired power plants operate in excess of air emission limits. The plants must pay a mitigation fee to local air districts. Municipal utilities and other power facilities say the order could produce up to 1,200 megawatts of additional power this summer by expanding the number of hours the plants can operate.

http://www.ptconnect.com/archive/today/new12.asp

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), June 12, 2001

Answers

Report Warns of Natural Gas Shortages This Summer (AP) -- California's energy crisis could overwhelm supplies of natural gas, which fires most power plants, leading to shortages this summer, the state's energy planning and policymaking agency has warned.

A severe drought in the Pacific Northwest has cut hydroelectric power supplies and forced natural gas-fired plants to make up the shortfall. The demand for gas has strained the ability of existing pipelines to supply it.

In the event of even stronger demand this summer, the California Energy Commission says, utilities could be forced to interrupt supplies to some power generators.

"Under the high gas use scenario for electric generator demand, curtailments and diversions of natural gas will be necessary this summer and into the winter of 2001-2002," according to a draft report by the commission.

While reliable gas supplies are available, many electric generators are relying on less costly, interruptible supplies of natural gas, putting them at risk of having gas supplies curtailed during high demand periods, the report states. California generators are responsible for purchasing and storing their own supplies of natural gas.

"Curtailment of natural gas supplies to electric generators could exacerbate rolling blackouts this summer," the commission found. "At the same time curtailments of industrial customers could increase the economic impacts from lost production."

The commission's draft report was released last month but has received little notice. A final report is expected by the end of this month, Michal Moore, one of the five members of the California Energy Commission, said Monday. He said that even though gas prices have fallen in recent weeks the possibility of shortages this summer remains.

The system is most strained in Southern California, where bottlenecks could force utilities, such as Southern California Gas Co., the nation's largest gas utility, "to choose between serving electric generators and storing sufficient gas for the winter."

San Diego Gas & Electric, which gets all its gas from SoCal Gas, "will likely have to curtail natural gas delivery this summer to electric generators" that can switch from gas to fuel oil. Over the past winter, the demand on SDG&E's system exceeded supply on 11 days, requiring the utility to curtail deliveries to some electric generators, the commission reported.

Duke Energy, which gets gas for its 760-megawatt South Bay power plant in Chula Vista from SDG&E, said the scenario of gas shortages this summer is "very valid," said Tom Williams, a company spokesman. The plant has had its supply interrupted several times over the last nine months and is prepared for more curtailments this summer, he said.

"It's a big problem," Williams said. "When we are curtailed it's a very critical time for power as well. You're removing megawatts from the grid at the time it's most needed."

Sempra Energy, the San Diego-based parent company of both SDG&E and SoCal Gas, took issue with the conclusions of the report in a letter June 5 to the commission.

SoCal Gas is confident in its ability to meet electric generators' demands for natural gas both this summer and have enough gas in storage to satisfy customer needs this winter. The utility, which claims it has not interrupted service over the past 10 years, says it is expanding its system to meet the demand, said Sempra spokeswoman Denise King.

The company also said it does not agree with the portrayal of SDG&E's natural gas supply, but did not deny that shortages would be likely this summer.

Californians have been hit with skyrocketing natural gas bills. State residents paid $6.6 billion for natural gas in 1999, $12.3 billion last year, and $7.9 billion through March 2001, according to a report by a state Assembly subcommittee.

Members of the subcommittee laid the blame at the feet of natural gas suppliers, such as El Paso Corp., which they said cornered enough of the pipeline capacity in California to drive up prices. But the California Energy Commission found that the high prices are at their root, one of inadequate infrastructure.

While gas retailers may have manipulated prices, the absence of any surplus or "slack" capacity has squeezed out competitors that could have offered gas at lower prices.

"When their is no slack capacity, customers lose the benefits of competition, and prices increase overall or spike upward," the report states

-- PHO (owennos@bigfoot.com), June 12, 2001.


"'. . . electric generators" that can switch from gas to fuel oil."

In SoCal there aren't any. Most Oil storage tanks at generating facilities haven't been used or maintained since the '70's when they were required to use gas year around by the Air Quality Monitoring District. One plant I know near the ocean has refurbished tanks, but they leased the tanks for storage of crude by offshore producers.

-- PHO (owennos@bigfoot.com), June 12, 2001.


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