Greg Lefevre on California's power crisis reprieve

Greg Lefevre

Q:Who came to the rescue?

LEFEVRE: Californians came to their own rescue this time. The California Independent System Operator says a combination of conservation, electricity purchases from out-of-state and just plain luck kept the lights on tonight. The state has said that a reduction in use of just 5 percent is all California needs to avoid this kind of power crisis. In most homes, that's the equivalent of simply shutting off one light bulb.

Q:How close did the state come to the brink?

LEFEVRE: Officially, the state came within 1 and 1.5 percent of using all its electrical power. And that was during the non-peak times of late morning and early afternoon. State electricity officials, as late as the beginning of the evening commute, were very worried that the first burst of home electricity use in the evening would drive the state utilities "over the edge" and force the state to impose rolling blackouts.

WEB EXCLUSIVE Online coverage of the energy crunch in California MESSAGE BOARD Power crisis     ALSO Power crisis expected to ease slightly for California

In those blackouts, large neighborhoods, selected in advance, would be shut off for an hour at a time. The shut-off pattern has been pre-selected and consumers can find out if they are on the list by looking at a notice now printed on home electric bills.

Q:What's next?

LEFEVRE: Energy Secretary Bill Richardson has extended a directive, ordering out of state suppliers to sell electricity to California. That takes effect Friday morning. The California electric system has a triple benefit Friday morning:

  • Friday is a "lighter use day" because some people do not work on Fridays. (Their workweek begins on Sunday and ends on Thursday.)

  • Friday is the beginning of three-day holiday weekend, and some people are stretching that to four by starting vacation early.

  • Several power plants that were shut down Thursday will be back on line Friday morning.

Q:What about next Tuesday?

LEFEVRE: There is some concern that when the work week resumes after the Martin Luther King Junior holiday in California, that electric use will jump again.

Electric utilities are urging conservation again Tuesday morning, and the state electric utilities are rushing repairs on additional plants to bring them on line over the weekend. And warmer weather is expected early next week, which will ease demand for electric heat.

Q:Are there any particular areas of concern?

LEFEVRE: California's power grid itself is able to support a tremendous amount of electrical transmission. The biggest problem right now is actually generating the power.

There is a place in the California electric grid in central California that is of concern to the state's electric system operators. That region has fewer high capacity transmission lines than officials believe the state needs. Adding transmission capacity at that location will take years, officials admit. It's going to take money, environmental reports and right of way.

US - More California power talks due
January 10, 2001
California governor to meet with U.S. energy officials about power crisis
January 9, 2001
Meeting in Washington to grapple with California energy shortage
January 6, 2001
Nobody happy with California power rate increase
January 4, 2001

Welcome to California
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Home Page
U.S. Department of Energy

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.