Record temps, power shortages hit California

A resident of Elk Grove, California, stands outside a pool and patio store closed after a rolling blackout on Monday

SACRAMENTO, California (CNN) -- California's energy crisis shaped up as a showdown between state and federal officials on Tuesday, a day after the state ordered its first rolling blackouts since March to cope with the demand for electricity.

California Gov. Gray Davis told CNN that the state was doing everything it could to reduce the burden, including initiating an $800 million conservation program and building more power plants.

But, Davis said, his state needs help from higher authorities to curb prices of wholesale electricity.

IN-DEPTH SPECIAL Online coverage of the energy crunch in California MESSAGE BOARD Power crisis

"We need help from Washington today to reduce the extraordinary prices for power we are paying," Davis said. "I'm taking care of the rest of it. ... But price, under the law we passed in 1996, is exclusively a matter for the federal government to resolve and they've dropped the ball big time."

Davis said Californians spent 450 percent more on electricity in 2000 than in 1999 without using more energy, and the cost is expected to rise further in 2001.

Record temperatures prompting Californians to turn on the air conditioning and four power plants temporarily shut down for pre-summer maintenance combined to force the blackout call.

In San Francisco, the temperature climbed to a record 93 degrees. Deserts in the south had temperatures above 100, and Lancaster recorded a record 96 degrees.

More than 88,000 customers were without power for about an hour late Monday afternoon, and the rush-hour blackouts snarled traffic in some areas.

California was on a Stage 2 alert Monday morning when electricity reserve levels fell to nearly 5 percent, but the levels dropped closer to 1.5 percent later in the day, prompting a Stage 3 alert.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Monday that President George W. Bush -- who last week ordered the federal government to reduce energy consumption during peak hours by up to 10 percent -- would try to set a good example.

"The president is not going to focus on political solutions to get you through the night," Fleischer said. "He's going to focus on long-term solutions to get you through the night and the day."

Vice President Dick Cheney is putting the finishing touches on a long-term energy policy that is likely to focus on increasing supply and building a better infrastructure as the way toward a better energy future.

In a speech last week in Toronto, Canada, Cheney said that conservation is just a small part of the solution to the energy woes.

Davis said Cheney's view "really missed the boat."

"We don't want to act like monks with sack cloths and ashes, but we do and we can and we should be smarter," he said.

CNN Correspondent Major Garret contributed to this report.

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