The California Independent System Operator’s load was relatively low despite the heat and fires. Demand was not even close to 40,000 MW/day for the week. Fires were another story. The Juliet Fire near the San Onofre nuclear power plant burned about 4,000 acres. It was almost contained at press time. The California Independent System Operator noted that the 230 kV line between the plant and San Diego was not out of service. “We may have reduced the flow on it for some period of time--but it was in service,” stated Gregg Fishman, CAISO spokesperson. Earlier this week, there was a fire east of San Diego that threatened the South West Power Link. Although it got within a couple of miles of the line there were no direct impacts, and that fire was contained fairly quickly, Fishman added. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and Ventura Counties due to fires that have burned along the Interstate 215 corridor in the City of San Bernardino and in other areas around Los Angeles. San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station unit 3 shut down Oct. 13. According to regulators, the 1,000 MW unit is scheduled for refueling.
