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Rolling Blackouts Threaten California Associated Press Environmental News Network - January 12, 2001

California faced the threat of rolling blackouts Thursday after an ocean storm crippled nuclear plants while other electric generating stations were shut down for maintenance.

"It's going to get ugly," said Pat Dorinson, a spokesman for the California Independent System Operator, keeper of much of the state's power grid. He said the state was "losing megawatts by the hour."

Electricity shortages linked to California's botched deregulation of the power industry have produced soaring prices and sporadic threats of blackouts in the state since last June.

On Thursday, the storm and maintenance needs hampered enough plants to cut the state's power generation by one-third. Regulators declared a Stage 3 alert as reserves dropped below 1.5 percent, and there was fear that scattered blackouts would be necessary as demand rose in the evening.

The ISO asked Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to cut off customers who volunteered for power stoppages in exchange for lower rates.

The need to save power also was hitting home across the state.

Officials at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, east of Los Angeles, closed the 19,000-student school to conserve energy.

"I turn on the heater for just 10 or 15 minutes and then turn it off," said Terri Samonte, a clerk with the San Francisco city attorney's office. She planned to stock up on non-perishable food after work.

California's power production fell more than 15,000 megawatts - enough to power 15 million homes — as the storm arrived with high wind and heavy rain and plants were struck by unrelated mechanical problems.

At least five plants shut down Wednesday night or early Thursday because of mechanical problems or maintenance concerns, the ISO said, refusing to identify them.

Other plants were forced to reduce power because of the storm, including the Diablo Canyon nuclear station in San Luis Obispo, north of Los Angeles.

The plant cut back output to 20 percent of normal after high surf blew sea kelp into intake valves. The station normally provides enough electricity to serve about 2 million people.

Some plants were down for scheduled maintenance, Dorinson said.

The storm also knocked out power to more than 20,000 customers in Los Angeles, and scattered outages were reported in Marin County, north of San Francisco.

On Thursday afternoon, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson extended an emergency order requiring out-of-state power suppliers to keep selling to California utilities despite their poor credit. The order had expired at midnight Wednesday but was extended after Gov. Gray Davis provided a requested electricity conservation plan Thursday.

The order expires next Wednesday.

PG&E and SoCal Edison — hit by high wholesale prices and battered on Wall Street — say they face bankruptcy if they don't get more cash soon. The two utilities — which serve some 25 million people — estimate their losses at more than $10 billion.

State regulators have approved rate increases of 7 percent to 15 percent for PG&E and SoCal Edison customers, but Wall Street and the utilities said it will not be enough.

PG&E, already denied credit to buy electricity, warned Davis this week that it is running low on credit to buy natural gas.