No Plans for Conservation Campaign

Despite warnings from the California grid operator that electric supplies will be tight, there are no plans for a statewide media campaign to encourage consumers to conserve this summer. ?There?s disagreement about how close it is this summer,? said Wally McGuire, coordinator of the Flex Your Power campaign. ?I am not pitching [a conservation campaign] for this year,? he added. The Flex Your Power program produced the ubiquitous advertisements during the energy crisis exhorting consumers to turn off lights and office equipment and to use fans instead of air conditioners. California Independent System Operator (CAISO) staff and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chair Pat Wood are worried about constrained supplies. Pacific Gas & Electric president Gordon Smith, however, says he?s not fretting about shortages. Southern California Edison ?anticipates adequate resources this summer? if ?typical? weather prevails, according to spokesperson Gil Alexander. Edison, however, is in an odd position when it comes to conservation campaigns. The utility administers the Flex Your Power program. The Flex Your Power campaign developed during the energy crisis is very different from the current program, said Barbara George, director of Women?s Energy Matters. It changed from ?things that people can do without going out and buying something? to rebates on energy-efficient appliances. During the energy crisis, Flex Your Power was run under the state?s Department of Consumer Affairs. Edison took over in 2002. San Diego Gas & Electric isn?t leaving a conservation campaign to Flex Your Power. The utility is ?concerned? about shortages this summer and is planning its own conservation campaign, according to spokesperson Stephanie Donovan. ?We don?t want to sound like the sky is falling,? she said. However, the utility has shifted plans for other kinds of advertising to conservation for the summer. Conservation efforts, such as getting businesses to turn off one-fourth of their lighting and off-peak pumping of agricultural water, ?weren?t meant to last,? McGuire said. ?By design, it was just to help us get through the crisis.? That may be so, but CAISO staff forecast a peak of over 44,000 MW this summer?higher, in effect, than during the energy crisis. Conservation netted 1,800 ?negawatts? in 2001?energy saved that would otherwise have had to be supplied by power plants. McGuire said there was an additional 1,800 negawatts in 2002. The Office of Ratepayer Advocates says advertisements to promote conservation are worthwhile although the energy savings cannot be verified. Energy-saving appliances are, however, ?verifiable savings,? according to Christine Tam, ORA regulatory analyst. McGuire said his ?unscientific? belief is that there has been some backsliding in consumers? conservation efforts in the last few years but that they are still at about 50 percent of the original level. ?That behavior change won?t go away,? he said. Flex Your Power started media campaigns in 2001, almost exclusively from state funds, according to McGuire. The program is now sustained through the public-goods charge on consumers? bills under Edison?s oversight. The bulk of its $15 million in 2003 went to television ads, primarily promoting energy-saving appliances. Flex Your Power?s funding is for efficiency, not conservation. McGuire said the organization is not even allowed to use the word ?conservation? in its advertising. Flex Your Power is waiting for the right moment, if it becomes necessary, to call on consumers to make greater conservation efforts. ?I wouldn?t want to ring the bell too much,? McGuire said. While he doesn?t think that will occur this summer, he?s not so sure about next summer. ?If we had to, we could run the spots. We could turn on a dime.?

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No Plans for Conservation Campaign

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