The saga of California’s electricity problems continued as Governor Gray Davis did his part to save energy by unplugging the Christmas tree lights at the Capitol shortly after the lighting ceremony was over. Rather than ending with the warm summer weather, the state’s problems have continued as California officials have been forced to declare eight Stage Two emergencies (requiring reductions in power or shut downs to interruptible service contracts) over the past three weeks. Blame for the ongoing situation has been placed on power plants shut down for repairs, cold weather in the Northwest, utility deregulation, population growth, and the booming high-tech economy. The debate continues at the state and federal levels as the California Public Utility Commission, members of the state Congress, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) all grapple with what went wrong and how to fix it. Meanwhile, residential customers have been asked to follow the governor’s example and help minimize power usage by cutting down on holiday lights and not turning them on until well after dark. [See earlier bulletin on action taken by Secretary of Defense Bill Richardson in FMLink, Regulations & Government / Energy.]
Based on a report from BOMA’s Potomac Currents
