Editorials

Energy shortages have strained electrical and natural gas supplies, prompting the state to ask residents to keep their holiday lights off in the early evening and leading utilities to warn customers of skyrocketing heating bills. 

As utility companies asked California residents to lower thermostats and to turn off unnecessary appliances, Gov. Gray Davis helped a youngster pull a switch lighting the state Christmas tree in Sacramento – and then quickly doused the lights to save energy. 

The tree was lit for about five minutes, then turned off for 21/2 hours until 7:30 p.m., after the peak of the day’s electrical use. 

“In some parts of California, people are going without power,” Davis said. “I would love to keep the lights on. But it’s important that we all pull together to reduce the strain on the grid.” 

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers face an average payment of $77 for their utility bills this December, more than a 50 percent increase over last year – when the average bill was $50. 

Although the average price of January bills isn’t known yet, PG&E is cautioning customers to be prepared for high bills throughout the winter. 

Part of the problem is a decreasing supply of natural gas nationwide, said Claudia Chandler, assistant executive director of the California Energy Commission. Low natural gas prices over the past few years led to a decline in drilling and production. That is now picking up, but the products of those efforts will not hit the market for up to two years. 

California also must now compete with the East Coast for natural gas, because urban areas in the east have built their own pipelines to reserves of natural gas that California has been using. 

The high price of electricity and petroleum also are driving the cost up, because much of the natural gas supply goes to electricity generation. And, because petroleum prices are also high, consumers that can use both petroleum and natural gas have no incentive to switch to petroleum instead of natural gas. 

Although PG&E said most of its supply of natural gas is guaranteed by contracts, prices will continue to be high. 

Electricity shortages are plaguing the state, with Stage Two electrical emergencies declared Monday and Tuesday by the California Independent System Operator – leading to the request for Californians to keep holiday lights off in the early evening. 

PG&E, Southern California Edison and the ISO all called on residents to delay the start of outdoor holiday lighting until 7 p.m., to lower thermostats to 68 degrees while at home and 55 degrees while away and to turn off computers and lights when not in use. 

“This is going to be another challenging week for the ISO,” said Patrick Dorinson, spokesman for the operator that runs the electricity system for about 75 percent of the state. 

There have been six separate Stage Two emergencies declared by the ISO in the past three weeks. A Stage Two emergency means the state is within 5 percent of running out of power. During Stage Two emergencies, the ISO can call on customers that have voluntarily agreed to go off line when a power crunch hits. 

The next step, when reserves fall below 1.5 percent, is a Stage Three, which triggers rotating blackouts. A Stage One is when electricity reserves dip below 7 percent. 

California never has experienced a statewide Stage Three emergency. But Monday’s peak demand of more than 34,000 megawatts was close to the wintertime record, and supplies could get even tighter with colder weather looming later in the week. Part of the problem is that some power plants are out of commission while owners perform needed maintenance delayed because of summer power needs. 

Estimates vary, meanwhile, as to how much holiday lights contribute to the problem. The ISO says the lights add about 1,000 megawatts of consumption statewide, whereas Edison figures the total for its 50,000-square-mile territory alone to be about 1,400 megawatts. 

By comparison, one unit at a nuclear power plant produces about 1,000 megawatts of power, or enough to supply about one million homes. 

Not all electricity consumers are affected by the shortages. Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers, for instance, can switch on holiday lights without fear because the municipal utility, like others in the region that are not part of the ISO grid, has more than enough electricity to meet demand.