COOLER TEMPERATURES THAN PREDICTED KEEP POWER USE DOWN.

Byline: Staff and Wire Services

Power use in California fell short of predicted new records Monday when temperatures turned out to be lower than forecast last week.

``It was not a Stage 1 alert,'' Gregg Fishman of Cal-ISO, the agency that regulates power usage in California.

His agency had labeled this a ``power watch day'' because high temperatures in other states were making less power available for California.

``The weather forecast on Friday was for far warmer than we got today,'' he said, primarily because it was cooler along the coasts than had been expected.

Still, while no records were set, ``we're still seeing very high energy usage,'' he said.

A little more than 43,216 megawatts were used Monday - below the record in the area of 44,000, but not by much, Fishman said.

While agency officials are glad people seem to be getting the conservation message, an increasing economy means more offices are full and more people are using air conditioning, and until more power plants are built the margin could easily get narrower than it was Monday, Fishman said.

To reduce electricity consumption, Cal-ISO advises Californians to:

--Set thermostats at 78 degrees or higher.

--Use fans to keep cool.

--Keep drapes drawn.

--Turn off unnecessary lights and appliances.

--Use big appliances early in the morning or late at night.