(Folsom, CA) The California Independent System Operator (California ISO) declared a Stage One Emergency at 6:00
a.m. today, Wednesday, December 13, 2000. The forecasted consumption of electricity is expected to peak by 6:00
p.m. today and increase to an estimated 34,152. Operating reserves to maintain reliability of the Grid are projected to fall
below seven percent. The California ISO is asking customers to voluntarily reduce their use of electricity through
midnight to prevent more severe curtailment measures.
The Stage One is being issued on the tenth day of a severe shortage of electricity in the Western U.S. A cold
snap has dramatically reduced the flow of imports from the Northwest causing California to rely heavily on in-state
generation, 8,500 megawatts of which is off line due to planned or unplanned maintenance.
Stage One of the state’s Electrical Emergency Plan is initiated to advise the public of potential power shortages
and to ask all customers to conserve electricity to ensure there will be enough power to meet future demand. The request
for demand reduction is not intended to disrupt employment or curtail industrial production or commerce. However, if
the conservation measures are insufficient in lowering the demand for power, load management programs that
implement voluntary curtailments of power are probable.
A Stage Two is declared when reserves drop below five percent. At this level, large commercial customers that
have signed up to voluntarily curtail power during high demand days will be asked to do so. If an operating reserve shortfall of less than one-and-a-half percent is unavoidable, Stage Three is initiated. Involuntary curtailments of service
to customers including “rotating blackouts” are possible during this emergency declaration. The California ISO’s
Electrical Emergency Plan (EEP) is part of the state’s enhanced reliability standards enacted by landmark legislation
Assembly Bill 1890 that led to the restructuring of California’s electricity industry.
The California ISO is charged with managing the flow of electricity along the long-distance, high-voltage power
lines that make up the bulk of California’s transmission system. The not-for-profit public-benefit corporation assumed
the responsibility in March 1998 when California opened its energy markets to competition and the state’s investor-owned
utilities turned their private transmission power lines over to the ISO to manage. The mission of the California
ISO is to safeguard the reliable delivery of electricity, facilitate markets and ensure equal access to a vast 12,500 circuit
miles of “electron highway”.
Continuously updated information about the California ISO control area’s electricity supply and the
current demand on the power grid is available on the web at www.caiso.com.
Media Teleconference Briefings will be held, once again, today:
1 800 374-1387
Pass code: 982640
Times: 11:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., 6:16 p.m.