Calif. narrowly avoids power blackouts

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WIRE:09/18/2000 19:57:00 ET -Calif. narrowly avoids power blackouts

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Aided by last-minute help from federal power agencies, California narrowly averted blacking out entire neighborhoods Monday as sizzling temperatures and soaring air conditioning demand strained the state"s power grid to near the breaking point.

The Independent System Operator (ISO), which manages most of the grid, got emergency electricity supplies from the federal Bonneville Power Administration and the Western Area Power Administration to help meet the peak afternoon power demand, said ISO spokesman Patrick Dorinson. Air conditioners account for nearly a third of all power consumed during heat waves.

At about 4:00 p.m. PDT, demand was peaking at about 41,700 MW, below an earlier forecast of 44,537 MW. The ISO record is 45,884 MW set July 12, 1999. The imports from the federal agencies combined with a cut of 1,800 MW of power to "interruptible" industrial customers of the state"s major utilities to help California limp through another tough day on the grid.

Dorinson, cautioned, however that California faces a similar situation again on Tuesday and perhaps Wednesday as a stubborn late-summer heat wave continues to blanket the state. "Clearly, the situation is not going to be much different tomorrow," Dorinson said. Peak demand for Tuesday was forecast at 44,827 MW. One megawatt power about 1,000 homes.

If blackouts had been ordered today, it would have been the first time the ISO had issued a statewide order to cut off homes and businesses to protect high voltage electrical gear and prevent a breakdown of the entire grid. Blackouts are the final Stage 3 step in the state"s three-step emergency plan, and come when power reserves fall below 1.5 percent of actual demand. The ISO moved through the first two stages earlier Monday, first appealing for voluntary reductions in electricity consumption and then ordering reduced flows to the interruptible customers to save more than 1,800 MW.

Interruptible customers buy their electricity at a discount on the understanding they can be cut if electricity supplies run dangerously low. Exacerbating the situation, about 3,000 MW of generation were not available Monday because several unspecified California power plants were reported shut for maintenance and repairs after running hard all summer to keep pace with the booming demand for electricity from the state"s 34 million residents. At the same time, the seasonal late-summer drop in water levels on Pacific Northwest rivers, usually a major source of hydroelectricity for the California market, also cut into available supplies from out of state. Relief does not appear to be coming any time soon. Meteorologists forecast record heat for much of the state this week, with temperatures hitting highs of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) in many of the state"s inland cities.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20000918_3332.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 18, 2000


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