SCV COPES WITH BLACKOUT SCHOOL, BUSINESSES HIT IN SUDDEN OUTAGE.

Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Rolling blackouts hit the Santa Clarita area Monday for the first time since World War II as operators of the state's electricity grid called a Stage 3 alert for the second time this year.

Valencia High School and several businesses in the northern area of the Valencia Industrial Center - including the local office of Southern California Edison - lost power in the hourlong blackout that began just before 1 p.m.

``Even the Edison company has to take its lumps like everyone else,'' said Glen Becerra, spokesman for Southern California Edison. ``My office is in the heart of the building and has no windows, so I was returning phone calls with a flashlight.''

A second outage was reported after 3 p.m. in the area of Sierra Highway and Via Princessa, but Edison officials said it was not related to the blackout.

Monday's warmer temperatures led to increased demand for electricity as air conditioners began running, and Becerra said more outages can be expected this summer during peak power usage.

``It's safe to assume we'll experience more of the same,'' he said. ``It's important for people to conserve all the power they can as we move into the hot summer months.''

Meanwhile, Sheriff's Department officials say they cannot enforce Gov. Gray Davis' orders for businesses to cut power by 50 percent after closing time. Instead, sheriff's officials say they will seek to educate business owners on ways to conserve electricity.

``The department's role will be that of educator,'' said Deputy David Cervantes of the sheriff's headquarters bureau. ``Only in the most egregious cases of noncompliance by a business owner would we use enforcement measures.''

Some customers affected by the blackout complained that Edison failed to warn them of the impending power outage, but Edison officials said they were notified just three minutes before the California Independent System Operator ordered the rolling blackouts to begin.

``We were caught by surprise as well,'' said Clara Potes-Fellow, an Edison spokeswoman. ``Our engineers make calculations on how many megawatts of power need to be cut, and then select blocks of customers to meet that need.''

However, those who work with heavy machinery say the rolling blackouts are more than an inconvenience, they are a safety hazard.

``Like any manufacturing operation, there could be a safety issue when the machines in our wood shop or metal shop suddenly stop working,'' said Don Simon, a project leader at Technifex, a special effects company in the Valencia Industrial Center. ``There could also be a safety problem when the lights go out and suddenly you can's see what you're doing.''

As a result of Monday's blackout, some local business owners say they are considering purchasing generators.

``Everyone was upset when this happened because our machines could be damaged if they stop in certain positions,'' said Ray Hargaves, a shop foreman at AVK, a manufacturing facility in the Valencia Industrial Center. ``We knew this would happen eventually, but we didn't think it would be today and we thought we'd get some warning.''

However, officials at Valencia High say they didn't miss a beat as a result of the outage.

``We still conduct class, sometimes we move it outside where it's light,'' said Barbara Schiern, an administrative assistant at Valencia High School. ``School goes on even without the power. The computers didn't work, but we did.''

During the blackout, sheriff's officials put stop signs at major intersections while the traffic signals were out.

Lt. Scott Young said the Santa Clarita sheriff's station had just a few minutes warning that a blackout was imminent.

``We had about five minutes to look at our major intersections in the blackout area and determine where to put the stop signs,'' he said. ``It's going to call for a lot of common sense on the part of the citizenry this summer because we may have a few more of these.''