California sets power usage record again
San Jose Mercury News, Calif. - July 22, 2003
California used more electricity than ever before Wednesday, a third straight day of record power consumption that will likely be topped today.
But while state officials urged conservation during peak late-afternoon
hours, they still expected to avoid the rolling blackouts that swept California
three years ago, thanks to new power plants, energy supply contracts,
conservation measures and a crackdown on market gamers.
"It's a whole different situation," said Stephanie McCorkle,
spokeswoman for the California Independent System Operator, which runs the
high-voltage grid for Pacific Gas & Electric and other major utilities in
the state. "We're in a lot better shape than we were in."
Peak daily power consumption this week has topped 44,000 megawatts, hitting
44,360 megawatts Wednesday and shattering a previous record of 43,609 megawatts
July 12, 1999. During the state's last rolling blackout, on May 8, 2001, the
demand was about 35,000 megawatts. A megawatt is enough electricity to power
about 750 average homes.
Southern California utility officials Tuesday did cut power to some
commercial customers that had agreed to accept service interruptions in exchange
for lower rates, but that was only because six power lines went down in
wildfires.
This week's record power consumption is a wake-up call, state energy
officials said. While California and its technology-driven economy continue to
grow, proposals for new power plants are starting to dry up and needed
transmission-line projects are stalling.
"The appetite's growing for electricity, and we've got to keep
pace," McCorkle said. "Part of it is population and the economy. Our
culture is becoming more and more dependent on electronics, and electronics for
the most part depend on electricity. And, of course, the high-tech sector is
coming back, and it requires a good steady electricity supply."
State officials early this year had predicted population and economic growth
would result in a power consumption record this summer. Demand was projected to
grow 3.5 percent this year, exceeding earlier estimates of 2.6 percent and the
usual increase of 1 percent or 2 percent.
California has grown by more than half a million residents a year for the
last five years, an increase of about 1.7 million people since 2001. The state's
fastest-growing counties are all in inland regions that rely on air conditioning
to stay cool in summer. Air conditioning accounts for a third of California's
peak summer power demand.
"We're seeing incremental air-conditioner load growth for the
state," said California Energy Commission spokeswoman Claudia Chandler.
"More and more homes are being built in the Central Valley, where property
prices are lower."
Since 2000, California has added 24 power plants with capacity totaling 8,311
megawatts. Subtract 2,900 megawatts from old plants that were mothballed during
that time, and the state has gained a net of about 5,400 megawatts. Eight plants
totaling about 3,800 megawatts are under construction and seven more totaling
about 2,900 megawatts are under review.
But eight approved plants totaling 5,000 megawatts are not being built. While
demand grows by about 1,000 megawatts a year, state officials expect to add just
366 megawatts to the grid in 2007, Chandler said.
"We kind of hit a cliff after 2006," Chandler said. "As we
look farther out, there are much fewer megawatts coming online."
Bottlenecks on the high-voltage grid continue to impede electricity flow
within the state and across its borders, McCorkle said.
And energy from the long-term power-supply contracts the state signed in 2001
begins trailing off after this year, from covering 29 percent of peak demand in
2004 to 15 percent by 2010.
State officials asked consumers Wednesday to mind their power usage this week
even though severe shortages aren't expected. "We try not to sound the
alarms too much until we really need it," McCorkle said. "If you
preach it too much, people will stop listening."
Consumer conservation has slipped from the average 8.4 percent reduction
during the power crisis in 2001, because it's been more than three years since
the last rolling blackouts.
It was business as usual Wednesday at LC2 Engineering, a Hayward electronics
repair company.
"I'm not doing anything different," said company owner Len Gasiorek,
who had adjusted his operations during the power crisis to help the state avoid
blackouts. "If I don't hear of any difficulties, I assume it's not an
issue."
Donald Kobayashi, 63, an unemployed computer technician from San Jose who
also had cut back during the crisis, had three of the four computers in his home
running Wednesday and was unaware of any need to save energy.
"We're just living normally," Kobayashi said.
But the state is benefiting from efficiency programs and conservation habits
promoted during the power crisis.
Energy-efficient lighting and appliances have reduced the state's power
consumption by 1,000 megawatts, Chandler said. And new energy-efficient building
standards kicking in at the end of this year will save an additional 500
megawatts, she said.
"That's the equivalent of a power plant," Chandler said.
Adele Bauer, 71, a part-time window-covering saleswoman from San Jose,
started setting her thermostat higher in the summer during the power crisis to
avoid blackouts and higher bills, and never stopped.
"A lot of it is economic reasons," Bauer said. "I can't afford
to pay the high bills. We got used to it. I think that's initially what it
takes, whether there's a shortage or not. You do get used to it, and you can
accommodate the changes."
NEW POWER PLANTS: Power plants providing 8,311 megawatts of capacity have
gone online in California since 2001. This is a list of plants with at least 300
megawatts of capacity for all units at one site that have gone online since
January 2001.
Plant…Capacity…County…Online
--Sunrise: 320…Kern…June '01
--Sutter: 540... Sutter…July '01
--Los Medanos: 555…Contra Costa…July '01
--Delta: 887…Contra Costa…May '02
--Huntington Beach, Unit 3: 225…Orange…July '02
--Moss Landing, Units 1&2: 1,060…Monterey…July '02
--La Paloma, Units 1,2,3&4: 1,124…Kern…Winter '03
--High Desert: 830…San Bernardino… April '03
--Elk Hills: 500…Kern…July '03
--Blythe: 520… Riverside… July '03
--Huntington Beach, Unit 4: 225…Orange…August '03
Capacity in megawatts.
Source: California Energy Commission
CONSERVATION TIPS:
--Set thermostats to 78 to 80 degrees when you're at home, 85 or off when
away.
--Turn off unneeded lights, appliances and electronics.
--Avoid using major appliances during peak afternoon hours: 4 to 6 p.m. are
most critical.
--Set pool pumps and automatic sprinklers to run in off-peak hours.
--For more conservation tips, visit www.fypower.com.
Source: California ISO
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