Desert Heat Prompts an Energy Alert in California

For the first time since August, California energy officials declared an alert Thursday because of tight electricity supplies, but they said there is no reason to believe it is a harbinger of statewide blackouts this summer.

The alert was called when desert heat in the Southwest caused out-of-state suppliers to divert some energy that otherwise would have gone to California, said Gregg Fishman, a spokesman for the agency that runs the state power grid, the California Independent System Operator.

The heat wave occurred while units at two large nuclear power plants, Diablo Canyon and San Onofre, were down for routine maintenance. There also was a disruption in a north-south transmission line, Fishman said.

Cal-ISO predicted last month that there would be enough power this summer to avoid the rotating blackouts that some Californians experienced in 2000 and 2001. Fishman said the alert issued Thursday did not change that, although it also could serve as a reminder that consumers still need to conserve.

“I don’t think we ever said we’re completely out of the woods,” he said.

The alert was the lowest level of warning used by the agency. It called on power generators to avoid unnecessary outages.