California swelters as power supply dwindles

Residents don't seem to be conserving

In this story: Preview of things to come Cheney blames ignoring supply issues RELATED STORIES, SITES

THERMAL, California (CNN) -- Californians braced for a third straight day of record temperatures on Wednesday, in all likelihood to be accompanied by more rolling blackouts as the state struggles to keep up with a spiraling demand for energy.

In Thermal, 81 miles (130 kilometers) northeast of San Diego, the temperature was expected to approach Tuesday's record of 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

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State power grid managers said that residents sweltering in the pre-summer heat wave were ignoring pleas to conserve electricity.

The state Independent System Operator, which manages the state power grid, ordered a Stage 3 power alert shortly after 3 p.m. on Monday as reserve capacity dropped below 1.5 percent of demand. Power grid operators ordered blackouts about 30 minutes later, and a second wave followed an hour after that.

The first wave of electrical service interruptions affected 167,000 customers as temperatures pushed into the 90s in some parts of the state. No estimates were immediately available on the number of customers affected by the second wave.

"There is not enough generation in the state to supply loads with the temperatures that we're seeing," said Jim McIntosh, director of grid operations for the ISO.

Preview of things to come

Most of the outages occurred in areas served by the state's two largest utilities, Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison.

Grid managers dropped back to a Stage 2 power alert about two hours after ordering rolling blackouts.

On Monday afternoon, the ISO ordered rolling blackouts for more than an hour as unseasonably warm temperatures in the Southwest prompted Californians to turn up their air conditioners. In addition, several power plants are temporarily shut down for maintenance or repairs.

California Gov. Gray Davis urged residents to cut back electricity consumption by as much as 10 percent. But McIntosh said Californians were using about 1,000 megawatts more power Tuesday than Monday.

Monday's power cuts affected more than 88,000 customers of California's two largest utilities, SoCal Edison and PG&E. Other customers of San Diego Gas and Electric and smaller utilities in the Los Angeles area were also affected.

California officials expect the state to be plagued with outages this summer, and have urged federal officials for help with the ongoing problem. The Bush administration has so far refused most aid.

Cheney blames ignoring supply issues

President Bush has urged federal agencies to cut energy consumption, but Vice President Dick Cheney has said conservation efforts aren't enough -- and has criticized the state for failing to add generating capacity. (More on Cheney's comments)

"They've got a whole complex of problems that are caused by relying only on conservation and not doing anything about the supply side of the equation," Cheney told CNN in a Tuesday interview.

Cheney is leading a White House task force on energy that is expected to urge expanded oil exploration efforts and the construction of hundreds of new power plants.

Davis told CNN on Monday that Washington needs to act to control the "extraordinary" prices of wholesale power.

"I'm taking care of the rest of it," Davis said. "We are building more plants and we are conserving, but prices under the law we passed in 1996 are exclusively a matter for the federal government to resolve -- and they've dropped the ball big time."

California's two largest utilities have been hammered by a 1995 electricity deregulation law that capped the power companies' ability to raise rates. When wholesale power costs skyrocketed, both SoCal Edison and PG&E suffered billions of dollars in losses, and PG&E filed for bankruptcy protection in April.

The state has been buying power on long-term contracts with money from a $10 billion bond issue the Legislature approved in February. And the state Public Utilities Commission ordered rate increases in March, with built-in breaks for those who use less power.

The legislation drew protests from consumer advocates, who say the bill amounts to a taxpayer-financed bailout of the two companies -- both of which supported the deregulation bill at the time.

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The California ISO
Pacific Gas amp; Electric Corporation
SoCal Edison
  • Deregulation - What this means to you - Electricity Market Issues
California Power Exchange
System Conditions - The California ISO
California Public Utilities Commission
California Utilities Emergency Association
Foundation For Taxpayer & Consumer Rights

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