West Coast Energy Crisis Heightened by Cold in Northwest

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Grassroots Information Coordination Center (GICC) : One Thread

Dec 11, 2000 - 05:17 AM

West Coast Energy Crisis Heightened by Cold in Northwest By Paul Chavez Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) - An energy crunch continued to grip the West Coast as cold weather in the Pacific Northwest put an increasing strain on power supplies. The Northwest Emergency Response Team, comprising utilities and lawmakers from Oregon, Washington, Montana and Idaho, met Sunday and reissued a Stage Two warning for the region.

Temperatures have been about 15 degrees below normal in the Northwest, and while the cold snap isn't expected to be as harsh as predicted, forecasters still expect temperatures to remain below normal this week.

"Just about every degree above what was previously expected makes things a little bit better," said forecaster Jay Albrecht of the National Weather Service.

The weather in the Northwest also affects California because as the cold increases, natural gas that powers generating facilities there may be diverted to Washington and Oregon to heat homes and offices.

The Independent System Operator, which manages the power grid that serves 75 percent of California, also issued a Stage Two emergency on Sunday and urged residents statewide to keep their holiday lights off until 7 p.m.

Stage Two emergencies, indicating power reserves are at less than 5 percent, were issued in California each day last week. An unprecedented Stage Three emergency was issued Thursday, meaning reserves had fallen below 1 1/2 percent and the threat of rolling outages loomed.

Electricity deregulation, the cold weather and rising power costs have been blamed for the state's recent power problems.

California approved a phased-in deregulation of the electricity market in 1996 in an effort to lower prices for consumers through competition, but so far it has led to higher energy prices. The Northwest, which relies on hydroelectric power, has struggled with low water tables and has had to import electricity from California and other states.

Meanwhile, wholesale power costs have been soaring, due in large part to skyrocketing prices for natural gas.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday approved lifting price caps on wholesale California electricity to ease the power crunch. The order means the $250 per megawatt hour limit for wholesale electricity can be exceeded if the sellers can justify the costs.

"I think in essence what we have to do is transition to a deregulated market," California Gov. Gray Davis told KCAL-TV on Sunday night. "We're not prepared for full deregulation now."

Even so, Davis opposed the commission's action on grounds it will lead to higher energy costs.

The power flow will receive a boost Monday, when a unit at California's Diablo Canyon nuclear plant is expected to resume production after one of its two units was shut down for maintenance. The two units can provide enough power for about 2 million people.

In another move that may ease the energy crunch, Kaiser Aluminum Corp. said Sunday that it has begun a temporary shutdown of a smelter it operates in Mead, Wash.

"The Northwest region needs energy now to cover its deficit, and we have energy that we believe can benefit the region and its residents," said Raymond J. Milchovich, president and chief executive officer of Kaiser's Houston-based operating subsidiary.

The shutdown - expected to be complete in several days - would completely idle Kaiser's smelting capacity in the Northwest. Operations at the company's Tacoma, Wash., smelter were shut down in June.

Kaiser said it intends to keep the facilities off-line until Oct. 1, when it begins a new five-year contract with the Bonneville Power Administration that provides enough power to operate at about 40 percent of capacity in the region.

About 400 hourly employees will be affected by the Mead shutdown, the company said. They will receive up to 70 percent of wages for a period of time depending on length of service.

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGATPGN0MGC.html



-- Carl Jenkins (somewherepress@aol.com), December 11, 2000


Moderation questions? read the FAQ