POWER CUTS WHITTLE EARNINGS.Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer SAUGUS - After withstanding 20 power shutdowns in three months, National Technical Systems Inc. said Monday it expects the electrical problems to dent the bottom line. The company expects fourth-quarter results to be negatively affected from having to cut the power several times at a moment's notice at its Saugus facility. ``It created terrible havoc,'' said Vice Chairman Aaron Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. . ``Thank goodness, it's over.'' The company, which tests a range of products for government and industry, faced shutdowns as part of Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, Edison's now- curtailed interruptible power program. From November through January, the company was asked to shut down 20 times or face steep penalties that for some businesses and schools were up to 100 times their regular power rates. Cohen said, at one point, to run a $700 test for a client would have cost the company $2,700. The company sent some of its workload to company facilities in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , which operates under a municipal utility and has not been subject to power problems, and to Fullerton, where its facility is not on the interruptible program, Cohen said. It also changed some schedules among its 70-member Saugus work force - running some tests during the evening hours when power was less likely to be interrupted. Still, the outages - coming with about 30 minutes' warning and with no telling when power would be restored - interrupted work, Cohen said. The Calabasas-based company faces losses due to schedule changes, lost production and other work changes that come from having the power off. ``We have 70 people looking at the wall, no power,'' said Cohen, who explained that NTS NTS National Technical Systems NTS National Trust for Scotland NTS Nevada Test Site NTS NT Server (Microsoft Windows) nts Not the Same NTS National Traffic System (amateur radio) customers were also hit by the delay in service. ``It was a domino See Lotus Notes. effect.'' The publicly traded company publicly traded company A company whose shares of common stock are held by the public and are available for purchase by investors. The shares of publicly traded firms are bought and sold on the organized exchanges or in the over-the-counter market. plans to announce its fourth-quarter and year-end results in April, he said. The company's Plano, Texas Plano (IPA: /ˈpleɪnoʊ/) is a wealthy suburb of Dallas, Texas, located to the north, mainly within Collin County, but also extending into Denton County. According to the 2000 U.S. , operation did well this quarter. Cohen said with the California Public Utilities Commission's announcement Jan. 26 that it was halting halt·ing adj. 1. Hesitant or wavering: a halting voice. 2. Imperfect; defective: halting verse. 3. Limping; lame. the penalties for interruptible power customers, the company is getting back to business full-time. Now, the Saugus facility is coping with backlogs as it tries to fill orders that had been stalled. ``Now, we're in the same situation as every other company,'' he said. |
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