| Independently Powered Energy News

As this week comes to a close, utilities may face another heat wave that could spike electricity demand but not as high as the hot spell that hit at the end of last week. High pressure over the Southwest is predicted to limit sea breezes that normally moderate California’s densely populated coastal plains and valleys. So far, though, the National Weather Service forecasts the next heat wave will not be nearly as severe as the one that tailed off the beginning of this week. Northern California and the Central Valley remain socked in by heavy smoke from wildfires. A high pressure zone is expected to move in. Thunderstorms are expected in Eastern and Northern California. Temperatures are expected to increase as the weekend approaches. “I have directed my Office of Emergency Services to coordinate with state and local agencies and do everything we can to ensure personal safety for all Californians during high temperatures today through the weekend. Every Californian who will be in a part of the state experiencing 90 to 100-plus degree heat needs to prepare and take extra precautions in their activities. We also need to look out for our friends and family and vulnerable citizens who live by themselves to help protect them from the heat,” Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stated. The June 20-22 hot spell wreaked havoc with the grid in Southern California, particularly in the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power service territory. Temperatures soared as high as 115 degrees in the San Fernando Valley, causing a near record peak power demand of 6,053 MW June 20. It was just below the department’s all time record of 6,165 MW, which occurred during the heat storm of 2006 when temperatures hit 116 degrees in coastal valleys. The heat moved LADWP general manager David Nahai to issue a call for energy conservation. By the late afternoon, some 11,500 LADWP customers found themselves without power due to strain on the system. Crews worked throughout the night to restore power to numerous communities in the San Fernando Valley, where the outages were centered. Elsewhere there were hundreds of wildfires, most started by lightning. Fires burned from Fresno to the California-Oregon border, but posed no serious threats to the grid as of press time. However, as grid operator spokesperson Gregg Fishman noted, “A fire that isn’t a real threat can become one quickly if the wind kicks up or changes direction.” The most serious wildfires occurred in Monterey and Trinity Counties, and in Big Sur. On June 23, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in both counties. Three days later he said, “There is no fire season anymore. It is all year around.” He said 149,000 acres have burned and urged people to abstain from buying fireworks for the upcoming July 4 celebration. Then on June 26, the governor declared a state of emergency in Mendocino and Shasta Counties, where 230 separate fires burned. At press time, the Gallery and Basin fires near Big Sur were 5 percent contained at 12,000 acres. The Lime Fire near Hyanpom was 10 percent contained at 7,000 acres. The Indians Fire in Monterey County was 71 percent contained at 58,872 acres. The California Independent System Operator peak demand soared to 46,897 MW on June 20 when triple digit temperatures hit. On June 21, demand was forecasted at 41,323 MW. This week’s highest demand so far was June 23 at 37,803 MW. Declining from there was June 24: 37,700 MW; June 25: 36,369 MW; and June 26: 36,407 MW. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District system peaked out on June 20 at 2,700 MW and has been declining ever since--to about 1,800 MW June 26. Fires have not impacted its transmission system. Pacific Gas & Electric customers experienced some outages, including one in Berkeley on June 21 said to be caused by an old transformer, which was replaced. In San Francisco, underground infrastructure blew the tops of two manhole covers after an explosion. Carbon dioxide was pumped into the system to blunt the resulting fire. One of the city’s cable car lines was halted during rush hour. In Southern California, the heat sparked some outages for Southern California Edison customers on June 21, said utility spokesperson Steve Conroy. A few thousand were affected, but Edison was able to restore power fairly quickly because it had pre-scheduled extra field crews to work over the weekend in light of the heat. Edison experienced a peak load of 22,000 MW the day before on June 20. Last year the peak for all of June was 18,116 MW in the utility’s territory, said Conroy. San Diego Gas & Electric, where the population lives closer to the coast, escaped any significant outages. However, San Diego City Attorney Mike Aguirre filed a lawsuit against SDG&E last week, alleging that negligence by the utility contributed to two major wildfires in San Diego County last year. The eight-page complaint filed on the city’s behalf states that the utility failed to maintain its transmission equipment and that negligence led to the downed power lines that started the Witch Creek and Guejito fires last October. No dollar amount was listed in the complaint, but Aguirre said the figure would likely surpass $45 million once his office fully tallies the city’s fire-related expenses. With the latest lawsuit, this makes at least nine separate complaints filed alleging that the utility failed to properly maintain equipment or trim vegetation around power lines. In a written response on June 19 to the San Diego filing, SDG&E spokeswoman Stephanie Donovan said, “Anyone can say anything in a lawsuit; that doesn’t make it true.”

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