No water means pricey power

Fri Jul 21 2000 2:57pm EDT Kelli Miller, weather.com In this report: The Price of Power Power conservation leaves some red-hot

As the nation's water supplies continue to plummet, the price of power is skyrocketing.

The scorching, dry weather has had such a stronghold, lakes and rivers are at record lows. That means the reservoirs used to generate hydroelectric power can not supply the energy demanded. As a result, utility companies are struggling to pay for the unanticipated drought-related reliance on power plants fueled by natural gas.

"Basically, because of the drought and the lakes being so much lower, we are unable to use our hydro plants as much as we'd like. So we've had to look for other sources, such as natural gas," said Laura Gillig, a spokeswoman for Georgia Power.

Low water levels in Georgia have resulted in a 30 percent reduction in output at 16 of the state's hydroelectric plants. Turning to natural gas isn't a cheap alternative, as rates have been substantially high for the past six months.

To cope with the $98.8 million in unexpected costs, Georgia Power will be billing customers about $2.70 more each month starting in August.

Of course, the demand for power has also soared along with the temperatures. Georgia Power spokesman Tal Wright said that part of the rate increase results from those who have cranked up the air conditioning.

The Price of Power

Paying $2.70 more a month doesn't seem so bad to those living in California, Washington, Oregon and Montana. The price of electricity in the West has climbed to 40 times normal levels in just a matter of weeks.

The spike has been so extreme, some businesses have been forced to shut down. When the normal $35 a megawatt for electricity jumped suddenly to $625 a megawatt, the Deep Copper Pit in Montana closed its doors. Across the West, a growing number of companies in energy-intensive industries like aluminum, paper and mining are being forced to lay off workers.

In sunny California, the summer scorcher has pushed power prices to the state limit, threatening bigger bills for consumers. Yesterday's average price per kilowatt was more than 50 percent higher than what San Diego Gas & Electric Co. currently bills customers.

Power conservation leaves some red-hot

To encourage power conservation, utility companies will often credit businesses for every kilowatt-hour conserved during peak hours. When commercial customers cut back on electricity, more power is available for homes.

But when a Houston-area prison scaled back usage during the hottest hours of the heat wave, inmates and guards were left sweltering, according to a report in the Houston Chronicle.

The paper reported that the Darrington medium-security prison is one of 40 commercial customers that the local power company, Reliant Energy, can call and ask to reduce the amount of electricity being used for periods of 3 hours at a time.

Prisoners in Texas prison cell blocks are not afforded the luxury of air conditioning. Electric fans, shut off during those three hours, are the only means of cooling off from the blistering 100 degree temperatures often seen in the Houston area.

Emergency medical specialists, however, say the fans could have actually made things worse. If the air blowing through a fan is hotter than your normal body temperature, it could do more harm than good. One doctor compared it to the way a traditional convection oven works.

http://www.weather.com/weather_center/full_story/full2.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), July 21, 2000

Answers

The current rate of population growth in this country in not sustainable. People in the U. S. use 40% more resources than people anywhere else in the world. My brother and I married immigrants. My sister-in-law grew up in Hong Kong. She knows first-hand the dire consequences of letting a population grow out of control: widespread poverty, desease, lack of clean water, etc.

The U. S. had a "zero level" population growth until the current wave of mass immigration. The people of this country decided on and implemented a population growth that would benefit them and their children. Congress decided (with the help of their corporate masters) to open the floodgates to legal and illegal (with amnesty for illegals the routine practice) immigration. Because of this failed policy we can no longer support our population. What is happening this year is as much an effect of that as Y2K. It will only get worse in the future. I only wish that this was due to embedded chips, at least it could be fixed!

Please educate youself on this vital issue in this year of presidential campaigns and demand some accountablity from all the candidates. A good place to start is:

http://www.numbersusa.com/cgi/text.cgi?Census

-- K (infosurf@yahoo.com), July 22, 2000.

"A growing number of companies in energy intensive industries like aluminum, paper, and mining are laying off workers."

OMinous words, indeed.

If y2k doesn't get us directly (there are still many "technical" failures taking place), maybe it will, indirectly, with help from a clueless, unplanned-for-growth society.

-- JackW (jpayne@web.tv.net), July 22, 2000.

If the heat don't get us them dange skwerls will!

-- Christopher Owen (Chris@Chris.com), July 24, 2000.