Calif. orders blackouts for 2nd day

FOLSOM, California (CNN) -- For the second day in a row, the state's electric power grid operator on Tuesday ordered rolling blackouts across California.

A spokeswoman said the California Independent System Operator told the state's utilities at 9:20 a.m. PT to cut power consumption by 500 megawatts.

That will prompt blackouts in areas selected by the individual utilities.

At a morning news briefing, officials from the CISO said power supplies remained "tight" and blackouts between 10 a.m. PT and 8 p.m. PT were possible if not likely.

Patrick Dorinson, a spokesman for the CISO, earlier had said, "The possibility is very real" that more rolling blackouts would be ordered because two generating plants the system operators had counted on were not up and running Tuesday morning.

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Dorinson said there was a forecast that one of those plants might return by noon Pacific time, but he added that even if it does, California might not have enough power to avoid more blackouts.

He called for California consumers "to shut off all unnecessary appliances" to save electricity.

He estimated that the state could run from 800 to 1,000 megawatts of generation short of the power that is needed to avoid blackout.

Dorinson said California would be able to import less power from the Pacific northwest than it did on Monday.

In addition, he said small independent power generators with around 6,000 megawatts of generating capacity were also off line.

He refused to speculate why, but some of the operators have said they cannot operate because they have not been paid by the electric utilities they serve for power they generated in the past.

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