Editorial

July 10, 2007
Precarious power supply
The Fresno Bee

California's electricity challenges are far from over. As temperatures rise and reservoirs decline, a shortage of hydroelectricity and increased demand could spell trouble.

Last Thursday, the primary operators of the statewide grid, the Independent System Operator, had a supply of just over 45,000 megawatts of electricity. Demand peaked at just under 45,000 megawatts. It was a close call, and just about everything went right that day. When the reliability of the electricity system is based on luck, that's trouble.

California has yet to confront all the messy trade-offs involved in our consumption of electricity. We continue to rely on large amounts of electricity from other places, whether a hydroelectric dam in the Pacific Northwest or a coal-burning plant in Arizona. But these supplies will dwindle in the future. As their populations grow, these states will keep more and more of the electricity they produce. If it doesn't rain, dams don't fill and hydroelectric supplies diminish, this trend will accelerate.

In California, this means everyone must get more serious about both sides of the electricity equation -- reducing demand and increasing the sources of clean and renewable supplies.

Back in 2000 and 2001, some of these same underlying problems for California were in play. That's when the state descended into an electricity crisis resulting in rolling blackouts, billions of dollars in extra costs and the recall of Gov. Gray Davis.

The most pressing problems then had to do with flaws in a new market-based system for buying much of the electricity. Generating plants once owned by regulated utilities such as Pacific Gas and Electric had been sold to private, for-profit companies. The price of electricity went through the roof if a power plant or two went out of production. The state had to buy its way out of the problem by purchasing power at high prices for several years. That gave the utilities some time to start building or buying more power. About three dozen new generating facilities have come on line since then.

But California continues to grow. And population growth in hot inland areas, such as the Valley, translates into high electricity demand on hot summer afternoons to keep those air conditioners humming.

This isn't the kind of problem that goes away with a single solution. Every tool in the toolbox -- increasing domestic energy supplies, lowering demand through numerous conservation strategies and improving transmission -- is necessary. For consumers, so is taking advantage of every rebate and energy efficiency program their local utilities provide.

California has set for itself the worthy and achievable goal of leading the nation when it comes to reducing emissions that lead to climate change. Electricity is at the very foundation of this agenda. The goal is more than simply keeping the lights on.