CITY STILL SEEKS ENERGY FIX CRISIS HAS EASED BUT LEADERS ON GUARD.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The rolling blackouts that hit in the spring and sent companies and residents reeling seem like a bad dream.

But now, even as temperatures soared above the 100-degree mark this past week, energy reserves are plentiful and many are heaving sighs of relief as the widespread outages that were predicted to roll across the state fail to materialize.

While California's immediate energy crisis seems to have passed, Santa Clarita's Energy Advisory Committee is meeting weekly to grapple with ways to protect local homes and businesses from any future rolling blackouts and additional price increases.

``We may determine that there's nothing to do,'' said Doug Sink, a committee member and president of the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce. ``But we have to ask the questions and check to see what our options are.''

While the committee members say their weekly, four-hour meetings are still relevant even though the crisis has eased, their hands may be tied by the city's cash-strapped budget and shrinking reserves.

``A lot of things are still up in the air,'' said Councilman Cameron Smyth, a nonvoting member of the committee. ``We're talking about short-, medium- and long-term goals.''

The City Council has agreed to spend $25,000 of its contingency fund on the committee and a short-term energy adviser. The committee may ask the council to boost that budget by $10,000 in the coming weeks to cover the costs of hiring Steve McClary, of Oakland-based MRW & Associates Inc. to assist members, according to Terri Maus, the city's director of field services.

``We hope to work within the original budget,'' Maus said.

Due to a cooler-than-average summer and newly built power plants, the supply of electricity consistently exceeds demand. State officials who began purchasing power at the height of the crisis and signed long-term contracts have been selling those kilowatts at a significant loss much to the chagrin of ratepayers who have seen their bills skyrocket.

``Last year, the conventional wisdom held that you only had to get through the summer - so everyone relaxed into the fall,'' McClary said. ``That turned out to be a bad idea. And I think relaxing into this fall is a bad idea, too.''

But Santa Clarita may be prevented from doing much besides conserving energy. Its dwindling budget reserves leave little room for new programs and commitments, city officials said.

This year's $127 million budget was pinched by declining development- related fees and additional energy costs. The City Council, when it approved the budget, earmarked about $350,000 more than last year to keep the lights on at City Hall and other city facilities.

The city's ambitious capital improvement program, focused mainly on roads and parks, has drained Santa Clarita's reserves of $4.5 million over the last year.

After the city collects all of its revenues and pays all of its bills, only $106,000 will be left over.

Last week, the committee recommended that the City Council lay the groundwork for a municipal utility, which would remove the city's residents and businesses from the state's grid by replacing Southern California Edison.

Extensive technical and economic analysis would be required before a municipal utility could be put in place, a staff report found. Those studies could cost up to $500,000, according to Maus.

City officials have committed to reducing energy consumption by an additional 10 percent. Earlier this year, lights in city facilities were dimmed and traffic lights were replaced to save energy and money.

Through an ad campaign, Mayor Laurene Weste urged residents to turn down their thermostats and turn off unnecessary lights.

Heeding the call of city officials, the Valencia Town Center turned off its fountains and reduced the time its escalators were on earlier this year.

Earlier this month, officials of The Newhall Land and Farming Company flipped the fountains back on - a sign of the easing energy crisis, according to Charles Gill, regional manager for the mall. ``We're still very concerned about the price of energy for us and our tenants,'' Gill said. ``We're trying to keep our costs down as best we can.''

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(color) The Valencia Town Center has turned back on its fountains that were closed to conserve energy. The fountains are still running on a limited basis, as questions about the cost and availability of electricity persist.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer