HEAT'S ON DWP UNION BOSS LAYS BLAME FOR OUTAGE ON SYSTEM.

Byline: SUSAN ABRAM and RICK ORLOV Staff Writers

As thousands of San Fernando Valley residents remained powerless Monday and DWP workers scrambled to replace equipment that has failed in an unprecedented hot streak, the union leader who represents most of the city's utility workers accused management of ignoring repeated warnings that the infrastructure is old and poorly maintained.

In scattered pockets across the Valley, at least 16,000 households endured another day of triple-digit temperatures while waiting for electricity to power fans, air conditioners and refrigerators.

Brian D'Arcy, general manger of IBEW, Local 18, which represents Department of Water and Power workers, blasted the agency for being unprepared.

``We have been talking about this to anyone we could, and no one is listening,'' he said. ``We have a system that is understaffed and hasn't been maintained.''

The DWP is down more than 4,000 workers since 1994, when the Northridge Earthquake hit, he said, and there are no plans to replace a rapidly aging work force.

``What these (DWP executives) fail to recognize is it takes four to five years to train someone to fill the jobs. But these people sit in their downtown, air-conditioned offices and refuse to address the reality,'' he said.

During a noon press conference at a Northridge senior center, DWP Chief Operating Officer Enrique Martinez assured customers their power would be restored in 24 hours. And Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said the Valley's power outage had nothing to do with DWP infrastructure, but with what he called an unusual heat storm.

In the interim, he urged residents to conserve energy to minimize the strain placed on transformers that had exploded, sparking the sporadic outages.

``The taxing heat, the humidity ... it's going to affect devices,'' the mayor said. ``We're in the process of buying new transformers, but because they are buying them all over the state, we may have a problem getting them.''

DWP Commissioner David Nahai said there is no connection between the outages and the department not spending adequately on the system.

``The problem now has to do with transformers blowing out because of too much pressure. It's a distribution problem,'' Nahai said, noting that millions of dollars have been allocated to upgrade the city's power infrastructure. ``We've had record temperatures -- a heat wave we've never experienced before.''

Meanwhile, two City Council members who faced angry constituents called for the DWP to explain what went wrong and what is needed to avert more problems as summer heat persists.

``My cell phone was ringing all weekend from people who did not have power and were upset that they couldn't find a real person to talk to,'' Councilwoman Wendy Greuel said.

Those angry people included Richard Sesma, who along with some of his North Hills neighbors coped Monday with the ongoing power outage.

``My neighbor has been calling since Saturday, and they said we were not an emergency,'' he said.

Greuel and Councilwoman Jan Perry, who serve on the City Council's Environment and Energy Committee overseeing the DWP, called for the utility to establish a plan to make sure there is adequate staffing when electricity demands peak.

``They know there are going to be problems, and our ratepayers deserve to have someone answer their phone calls and provide them with information,'' Greuel said.

Meanwhile, state officials declared a Stage 2 power emergency Monday afternoon as demand on the state grid hit a record of more than 50,000 megawatts. By comparison, during the 2001 power crisis, peak demand got no higher than the adjusted equivalent of 37,000 megawatts.

But, thanks to programs to reduce power usage during a Stage 2 alert, the state managed to avoid the need for a Stage 3 emergency, in which rotating outages are activated to forcibly curb usage.

Officials, however, remain cautious, saying the high demands on the system are expected throughout the week and are putting a strain on the state power grid.

``We are seeing temperatures at the hottest in 50 and in some instances 100 years, which means the system as a whole is stressed,'' said Joseph Desmond, undersecretary for energy affairs at the California Resources Agency. ``There have been some outages, primarily as a result of equipment failure. This is to be expected.''

At Lillian Regan's Woodland Hills home, where the power had been knocked out since Saturday, her ailing husband, Fred, 74, who has meningitis, weakened as she prepared to take him to the hospital.

``I've been trying to find out when the power will be turned on, and they said two to five days,'' she said. ``They said they are `prioritizing.' They said we are not a priority.''

Staff Writers Harrison Sheppard and Beth Barrett contributed to this report.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Lillian Regan helps her husband, Fred, who is in failing health, get ready for a doctor's appointment Monday. The Regans' home, on Friar Street in Woodland Hills, has been without power for several days.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

(2) Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa makes the rounds Monday at the Northridge Senior Center during a press conference to update residents on the status of the city's power shortages and announce extended hours at the senior cooling centers in Northridge.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

(3) Kids from the Sylmar YMCA beat the heat Monday by enjoying the El Cariso Regional County Park public pool.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer

Box:

Record Heat

SOURCE: National Weather Service