Utilities Move to Cut Smog in L.A. Basin but Bills May Rise

In a smog-reduction move, the state’s major utilities agreed Monday to funnel as much cleaner-burning natural gas as possible into the Los Angeles Basin, thus lessening the need to burn oil to power electric generators.

The plan, unveiled at a City Hall news conference, could mean higher prices for area consumers. Mayor Tom Bradley, after endorsing the proposal, said consumers can help themselves by voluntarily reducing energy consumption by at least 10%. A similar conservation effort in the late 1970s was successful, Bradley said.

The natural gas plan was reached after a day of meetings involving officials from the Public Utilities Commission, the mayor’s staff and the major utilities. It comes a week after Southern California Gas Co. imposed a 20% reduction in supplies to major power utilities including Southern California Edison Co. and the city’s Department of Water and Power.

PUC President Stanley Hullett, who joined Bradley in announcing the plan, predicted it will win approval at the commission’s hearing Wednesday.

50,000 Barrels of Oil Burned

Although the gas company agreed last week to provide full supplies during smog episodes, no such agreement existed for clearer days. To make up for the loss in natural gas supplies, the major utilities were forced to shift to low-sulfur oil for their generators. More than 50,000 barrels of oil, for example, were burned in Southern California power plants on Monday, said Marc D. Christensen, a gas company vice president.

Alarmed by the prospect that Los Angeles skies would become even more fouled when smog is most acute--during the summer--Bradley last week suggested that curtailing the gas supply be delayed until winter. Bradley told reporters Monday the new gas supply plan eliminates the need for his earlier suggestion.

Hullett said the plan will give the utilities more flexibility in buying, trading and using natural gas, electricity and oil.

Hullett said the main elements of the plan include:

- The promotion of an energy conservation program in Southern California that would warn consumers that failure to reduce electricity consumption will lead to higher utility bills, particularly in the next several months.

Hullett said that even with conservation efforts, utility bills may climb several dollars a month. But he added, the price will be steeper if customers fail to reduce their energy use.

- The ability of Southern California Gas to meet its storage goal of 68 billion cubic feet of natural gas by Nov. 1 in anticipation of this winter’s heating needs. The gas company’s curtailment was prompted by concerns that storage goals would not be met if the electric utilities received all the gas they wanted.

Hullett said additional gas supplies have been found in New Mexico and these will be pumped through interstate pipelines now supplying Southern California Gas. Gas company spokesman Christensen said, however, that the additional supplies will drive the cost up from about $2.35 to $3.15 per 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas.

- Prevent gas supply curtailment in the Los Angeles area both during smoggy days and “to the extent possible minimize the use of oil-fired generation” during clearer days until Nov. 1.

Hullett said the natural gas plan could be implemented in a matter of several weeks, but Christensen said the curtailment could be lifted even sooner, possibly by the end of this week.

- An effort by Los Angeles utilities to buy as much electricity generated from outside Southern California as possible.

Christensen said representatives of Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric agreed Monday to burn limited amounts of oil to power their generators during this period. As a result, more natural gas will be available to the Los Angeles area, he added.

The San Diego and Northern California utilities agreed only to burn the oil in areas where it will not result in violations of air quality standards.