PG&E Transmission System Back to Normal Operation.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 11, 1996--Pacific Gas and Electric Company reported Sunday that its electric transmission system is returning to normal operation after a disturbance Saturday afternoon on a major transmission connection with the Pacific Northwest.

However, the company urged customers to conserve energy because of extraordinary hot weather and reduced generating capacity.

The Bonneville Power Administration, a federal power agency based in Portland, Oregon, reported high voltage transmission outages at the time that a major disturbance on the Western electric transmission grid occurred shortly before 4 p.m. on Saturday.

PG&E emphasized that the precise cause of the incident that interrupted power service to an estimated two million PG&E customers has not been determined. A thorough investigation to determine where and why the disturbance occurred is underway. PG&E said that a brush fire outside of its service territory in Oregon south of Malin, reported by some as the speculated cause of the incident, has been ruled out as the trigger for the Intertie disturbance.

The interruption on the Pacific Intertie electric transmission system that links California with the Pacific Northwest resulted in the loss of about 9,000 megawatts of electricity to serve PG&E customers Saturday on a day when demand was approaching a record level of 19,000 megawatts for a weekend day. This caused electricity frequency levels to drop below 60 cycles a second, and that in turn caused a number of PG&E turbine generators at power plants to shut down.

There were no significant outages remaining as of midnight Sunday because of the incident.

As of midday Sunday, the two units at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant near San Luis Obispo and one unit at the Moss Landing Power Plant near Monterey remained shut down for safety checks. It has not been determined when Diablo Canyon will resume operations.

With continuing hot temperatures, particularly in the inland areas, a forecasted peak demand of 18,500 megawatts on Sunday, and a reduced generating capacity, PG&E is asking customers to help manage energy resources by voluntarily reducing non-essential energy usage as much as possible. Such actions will be particularly important on Monday as many large businesses and manufacturing concerns resume weekday operations.

Energy saving measures that customers can take include raising air conditioner settings to 85 degrees or higher, discontinuing the use of non-essential appliances and minimizing the use of appliances such as washers, dryers, dishwashers, and electric ovens and ranges. It would be especially helpful if non-essential use of energy is curtailed during the weekday peak demand hours between noon and 6 p.m.

CONTACT: Pacific Gas & Electric Company

News Department, 415/973-5930