Electricity Shortage: Grinch 2000
California skated dangerously close to an electric power crisis all last week. It was more than routine political symbolism when Gov. Gray Davis switched off the official state Christmas tree just half an hour after it was lighted and then appealed to all Californians to light their own decorations only after 7 o’clock each evening. On Thursday, officials declared the state’s first-ever Stage 3 power emergency, meaning that the grid serving three-fourths of the state was a whisper from being out of power. Temporary blackouts--needed to keep the entire system from going down--were averted through a variety of emergency actions. The crisis is far from over, as Times staff writer Nancy Vogel showed Saturday in a comprehensive review of electric power deregulation.
The irony is, as state Public Utilities Commission President Loretta Lynch said, that the state has sufficient power-generation capacity and “One would think we could manage it a lot more effectively.” Indeed. Part of the problem is that the 1996 deregulation has left no one in charge, except a marketplace in chaos.
Davis used emergency authority to marshal power resources needed to squeak by without blackouts Thursday night. It was far too close for comfort. The state needs greater authority to deal with shortages at Stage 2, which the state experienced all week long. Los Angeles was again largely exempt from the problem because its municipal utility, the Department of Water and Power, generates its own electricity.
The statewide shortages occurred because plants collectively capable of producing 11,000 megawatts, one-fourth of the state’s capacity, were out of commission, mostly for maintenance or to meet air quality rules. Plants do need to halt for overhauls in autumns and winters, but it’s clear the shutdowns must be coordinated so that too many do not occur at once. And during power emergencies, plants should be allowed to exceed the levels set in air quality standards as long as there is no immediate health risk.
Deregulation is only one factor in the shortage. Demand has far outpaced construction of new plants in recent years. There are calls for re-regulating the industry, but most of the plants have already been sold to private power companies. That can hardly be undone, and the uncertainties created by re-regulation could hamper plant construction.
That said, the market is a mess and the energy companies seem to be the only ones benefiting. California now limits the price paid for power, but this has encouraged the producers to sell elsewhere. One possible fix is for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to set reasonable wholesale price ceilings throughout the region. So far, it has declined; with the problem ongoing, it should reconsider.
For now, the most immediate and effective way to avert blackouts is for consumers to reduce their power use. Leaving Christmas lights dark until 7 p.m. can save considerable power. Some skeptical homeowners say they’ll do that when office buildings and shopping malls dim their lights voluntarily. But without more conservation, everyone may wind up in the dark, and not by choice. In this case, conservation does mean power to the people.
