California ISO Calls Stage One Electrical Emergency; Immediate Request for Energy Conservation.News Editors/Energy Writers FOLSOM, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 14, 2000 The California Independent System Operator (California ISO (1) See ISO speed. (2) (International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland, www.iso.ch) An organization that sets international standards, founded in 1946. The U.S. member body is ANSI. ) announced a Stage One Electrical Emergency effective 4:00 p.m. today, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2000, due to an anticipated shortfall Shortfall The amount by which the capital required to fulfill a financial obligation exceeds available capital. Notes: Shortfall risk is often combated with an efficient hedging strategy created by a fund, group, institution, or individual. of operating reserves In power systems, the operating reserve is the generating capacity available to the system operator within a short interval of time to meet demand in case a generator is lost or there is another disruption to the supply. . The California ISO is issuing an immediate appeal for energy conservation to help meet a forecasted peak power demand of 32,900 megawatts today at approximately 6:00 p.m. The Stage One Emergency is in effect through 8:00 p.m. An early cold snap cold snap Noun a short period of cold and frosty weather Noun 1. cold snap - a spell of cold weather cold spell is causing a rise in heating demand during a month when many power plant owners schedule major maintenance projects on generators. Nearly 12,000 megawatts of planned and unplanned plant outages are contributing to the strain on operating reserves today. In addition, the amount of power expected to be imported from the Northwest was reduced by a third today because the power was needed in Washington and Oregon -- states also suffering from cold fall weather. Stage One of the state's Electrical Emergency Plan is initiated to advise the public of potential power shortages and to ask all customers to conserve electricity to ensure there will be enough power to meet future demand. The request for demand reduction is not intended to disrupt employment or curtail cur·tail tr.v. cur·tailed, cur·tail·ing, cur·tails To cut short or reduce. See Synonyms at shorten. [Middle English curtailen, to restrict industrial production or commerce. However, if the conservation measures are insufficient in lowering the demand for power, load management programs that implement voluntary curtailments of power are probable. A Stage One Emergency takes effect when electricity operating reserves fall below seven percent. A Stage Two is declared when reserves drop below five percent. At this level, large commercial customers that have signed up to voluntarily curtail power during high demand days will be asked to do so. If an operating reserve shortfall of less than one-and-a-half percent is unavoidable, Stage Three is initiated. Involuntary involuntary adj. or adv. without intent, will, or choice. Participation in a crime is involuntary if forced by immediate threat to life or health of oneself or one's loved ones, and will result in dismissal or acquittal. INVOLUNTARY. curtailments of service to customers including "rotating ro·tate v. ro·tat·ed, ro·tat·ing, ro·tates v.intr. 1. To turn around on an axis or center. 2. blackouts" are possible during this emergency declaration. The California ISO's Electrical Emergency Plan (EEP EEP Export Enhancement Program EEP Ecosystem Enhancement Program EEP Early Entrance Program (University of Washington) EEP Equal Error Protection EEP Einstein Equivalence Principle EEP Emergency Evacuation Plan ) is part of the state's enhanced reliability standards enacted by landmark legislation Assembly Bill 1890 that led to the restructuring restructuring - The transformation from one representation form to another at the same relative abstraction level, while preserving the subject system's external behaviour (functionality and semantics). of California's electricity industry. The California ISO is chartered by the state to manage the flow of electricity along the long-distance, high-voltage power lines that make up the bulk of California's transmission system. The not-for-profit public-benefit corporation assumed the responsibility in March 1998 when California opened its energy markets to competition and the state's investor-owned utilities turned their private transmission power lines over to the ISO to manage. The mission of the California ISO is to safeguard the reliable delivery of electricity, facilitate markets and ensure equal access to a vast 12,500 circuit miles of "electron highway." Continuously updated information about the California ISO control area's electricity supply and the current demand on the power grid is available on the web at www.caiso.com.
Other helpful contacts:
Pacific Gas and Electric 415/973-5930
Southern California Edison 626/302-2255
San Diego Gas and Electric 877/866-2066
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