Schoolkids in the Dark, Horses in Light

A Montebello assemblyman and the state schools superintendent were scrambling Friday to find ways to relieve many schools of skyrocketing energy costs resulting from suddenly onerous contracts.

In myriad California schools, thousands of children wore jackets in chilly, dim classrooms, libraries and gymnasiums.

Colleges, meanwhile, were forced to rent huge diesel-powered generators and go to other extremes. Cal State San Bernardino, for example, has limped through 11 power interruptions this month, including two of six hours apiece on Tuesday and 18-hour interruptions Wednesday and Thursday.

Assemblyman Thomas Calderon (D-Montebello) said he plans to introduce a bill Monday that would offer financial relief to public elementary and secondary schools facing soaring bills under special rate plans that in normal years save substantial sums.

The contracts, which are widespread throughout the state, allow districts to secure cheaper power from utilities in exchange for agreements to cut use during crises. Penalties for some schools that have chosen to leave the lights on during California’s ongoing energy emergency are running into the tens of thousands of dollars.

The bill would provide a onetime reimbursement for those penalties, which Calderon said he expects will total “in the millions.”

Separately, Delaine Eastin, state superintendent of public instruction, asked the California Public Utilities Commission to exempt public schools from power outages or to decree that blackouts should occur only after regular school hours.

Eastin noted that some school districts that have not suffered actual interruptions have had to send students home early because the “unexpected exorbitant cost of energy bills” has already depleted their annual energy budgets.

At a time when many schools are attempting to increase the amount of instruction time, she wrote in a letter to PUC President Loretta Lynch, “it is ironic that the energy crisis is stealing precious hours . . . and in extreme cases causing some schools to . . . send students home early.”

In a separate memo, Eastin also implored county and district superintendents to develop emergency plans to conserve energy and to cope with the rolling blackouts that have in recent days become a fact of life for Californians. At some point, she suggested, enforcement measures might be taken.

Even students, normally oblivious to the intricacies of electron flows, were alarmed.

“Everybody’s being distracted by this crisis,” said Luis Chavez, student body president at the 1,400-student South El Monte High School. “It’s hard to pay attention to the teacher and do your work when you’re wondering if the lights are going to go out.”

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Some public school systems that signed interruptible rate contracts are managing to avoid paying more. Newport-Mesa Unified, for instance, has been reducing electricity usage by taking steps such as cutting off heat to large swimming pools and gymnasiums, said Michael Fine, assistant superintendent of business services.

The energy crisis “has not had any significant impact,” he said Friday. “We have the ability to reduce our intake.”

Irvine Unified, however, is feeling the pinch, spending as much as $20,000 a day more because of penalties for exceeding its energy allotment, said Don Chadd, director of business services.

Irvine Unified had planned not to renew its agreement with Southern California Edison when the potential for an energy crisis developed last year, Chadd said. The district’s contract was set to expire Jan. 1, but the PUC ruled in the fall that districts could not cancel such deals.

“We’re kind of trapped in this program and don’t want to be in it,” Chadd said. “We’re not going to cancel school. We’re in the business of teaching children.”

Irvine Unified, which signed its contract in 1996, saved 20% to 30% on its electrical bills, with only half a dozen service interruptions in the past four years, Chadd said. “I guarantee you we’ve lost those savings in the penalties we’ve had this week,” he said.

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The crisis poses problems for districts and colleges that have already exhausted annual energy budgets.

Cal State San Bernardino has leased several generators to keep the campus running and has gone through 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel. On Friday the generators almost went out when the fuel supplier--also on an interruptible rate plan--briefly lost power to its pumps.

Representatives of 15 private colleges in Southern California will meet today to discuss ways to obtain relief from their contracts with Southern California Edison. The schools include the Claremont Colleges, Pepperdine University, the University of Redlands, Hope International University, Whittier College and Chapman University.

“This was always envisioned as a program that worked well for the universities because they had summer vacations and peak energy usage was during the summer, and that would allow us to save money and keep tuition down,” said Gary Brahm, Chapman’s executive vice president and chief financial officer. “But it was never envisioned to have power outages in the winter, during school.”

Marcel Hawiger, a staff attorney for the consumer group Utility Reform Network, said customers have saved $150 million to $200 million a year since 1986 by signing up with the program.

“Our view is, they should not get out of the program or they should have to repay the benefits they received by having lower rates,” Hawiger said. “After getting many years of reduced rates, these customers should not be able to get out on the one single year of the program when we need them to reduce electrical usage.”

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Times staff writer Doug Smith in Los Angeles and correspondent Deniene Husted in Orange County contributed to this report.