Associated Press
FOLSOM –
The keeper of the state's power grid declared a Stage Two power
emergency Wednesday morning at 7 a.m., just 40 minutes after declaring
a Stage One emergency.
It was the
seventh Stage Two emergency in the last three weeks and the second
in as many days.
Pat Dorinson,
spokesman for the Independent System Operator, said although the
7 a.m. declaration was unusual, it was not unheard of. Most Stage
Two emergencies are declared in the afternoon or early evening,
when electricity usage peaks.
"This
might be a short one today, you never now. When the reserves fall,
we have to declare it," Dorinson said.
A Stage Two
emergency is called when power reserves fall below 5 percent or
are expected to.
The alert
means that electricity users are asked to conserve energy. The
ISO requested that holiday lights be kept off until 7 p.m. when
power needs are expected to drop.
"We understand
it's the holidays and we just ask for help to not put the lights
on until 7 tonight. The public helped prevent more serious shortages
yesterday," Dorinson said.
More than
11,000 megawatts of power remain off-line in California, in part
because of repairs. Peak usage was expected to be 34,226 megawatts
around 6 p.m. Wednesday night.
A Stage Three
emergency could be declared if power reserves fall below 1.5 percent.
If that happens, rolling blackouts are possible.
The Stage
Two emergency was expected to last through noon Wednesday, followed
with a Stage One alert until 10 p.m.
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