Posted on 01/18/2002 6:42:43 AM PST by John Jorsett
SACRAMENTO -- On the anniversary of last year's rolling blackouts, consumer advocates, energy suppliers and state power officials disagreed on the causes of the energy shortage -- or whether a shortage even existed.
A report released Thursday by the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights called the energy shortage a hoax manufactured by power suppliers who wanted to drive up prices.
The report came on the one-year anniversary of the first of six days of rolling blackouts ordered in California last year.
An analysis of prices and supply and demand data led foundation president Harvey Rosenfield to conclude "there never was an energy shortage," he said. "A handful of energy companies manipulated supplies to drive up prices and reap windfall profits."
The Independent System Operator, which oversees most of the state's power grid, has more than 47,000 megawatts available in its territory, Rosenfield said, but the state's demand, especially on the days when the ISO ordered blackouts, never topped 40,000 megawatts.
ISO spokesman Gregg Fishman agreed that some power companies likely manipulated the market, but stressed "there was a shortage that was very real."
The ISO operates much of California's electricity grid and the spot market where last-minute energy to balance the grid is bought.
Last year's shortage came from years of growth in California and the West, less power produced by hydroelectric plants in the drought-stricken Northwest and a large number of power plants that were off-line for maintenance.
Fishman said several natural gas-fired plants that operated heavily during 2000 were legitimately unavailable in early 2001. Any ability to manipulate the market "was based at least partly on a real shortage."
Jan Smutny-Jones, executive director of the Independent Energy Producers, called the foundation's charges "fundamentally untrue."
Many power plants were off-line for repairs because most are over 30 years old, he said. The problems last year stemmed from fundamental flaws in the state's regulation, Smutny-Jones said, including regulators' failure to let the utilities arrange long-term contracts for power.
Areas of the state had more power than they needed, but the transmission lines were full. That was the problem. It doesn't matter if San Diego has excessive megawatts if there's no way of transporting them to San Francisco.
How does he know what? That the north south transmission lines were at full capacity? I remember it being on the news at that time. Blackouts in the Sacramento area because for whatever reason, north/south transmission capacity was not possible. Also, a lack of hydro in the north.
What's news here is that Red Harvey is starting to figure out that his man, Gray-out Davis, permitted his major campaign contributors to manipulate power availability for political expediency, to push bills in the legislature.
How do you know that? I remember reading that the basic cause was inadequate capacity - population growth had outstripped power plant construction so that excess capacity - necessary to cover emergency situations - had dropped almost to zero. All I can remember reading about the transmission grid was that it was not efficiently constructed - making it impossible to distribute available supplies everywhere needed. Inotherwords, there were critical bottlenecks. But I never saw, or forgot, the details.
Pertinent passage:
Path 15, an 84-mile stretch of electrical transmission lines in the Central Valley connecting Southern California with the northern part of the state, has been targeted for expansion for more than a decade. Capacity in this area is not enough to meet fluctuating consumer demands and carry the necessary electricity load, especially during the winter. In fact, state grid officials report that this bottleneck contributed to blackouts in Northern California last winter.
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He's a liar, pure and simple.
Keeping up on FreeRepublic is analogous to drinking out of a firehose!
I flagged you on an article from Jan 2001 that summarizes things nicely!
The fish stinks from the head down. Did Davis conspire with the power companies to loot our state treasury with an elaborate, Clintonian scheme?
FERC did order something like $10 million to be returned to the State of CA from several power companies, but that money was not refunds of overcharged rates. It was refund of surcharges that had been placed on the purchases because CA was way in arrears on paying its bills.
Rosenfield and so many others just like him have no regard of any facts. Reality is how they perceive it as they pursue their social(ist) agenda.
Liberallarry posted, "How do you know that? I remember reading that the basic cause was inadequate capacity - population growth had outstripped power plant construction so that excess capacity - necessary to cover emergency situations - had dropped almost to zero."
This shortage of electrical power supply production started when MoonBeam Brown was sworn in as governor and as chief hand maiden of the envirals who enabled him to be elected.
MoonBeam started the famous era of limits. That meant no new powerplants and other capital investments as per the envirals who hate Californians who work for businesses!
Then, add the rapid increases in population and businesses in California since Moonbeam!. Combine that with zero new Power Plants with the exception of the couple that were being completed when the era of limits came in! We last two nuclear plants and many large coal and other fossil fuel plants from then to the power crisis!
The lack of transmission capability is part of the story. I just haven't kept up with that part. John and others are more on target with aspect!
One of the prime reasons that we did not have more blackouts last year besides the cooler summer was the number of businesses in Cali that went bankrupt during our recession and post 9/11 or minimized their hours.
If we come back to full economy (2000), we will be right back into a power shortage even with the few new plants that have been opened!
Don't worry about not keeping up. Even with the great knowledge base here on Free Republic and Ernest's indexing, it is really impossible to keep track of it!
Happy New Year to the liberal who admits to being a liberal, and who contributes to Free Republic.
As you predicted we differ on some of the issues. While I agree that Jerry Brown was definitely Moon Beam Jerry and that his era of limits was not too well concieved and had much to do with our current problems, I think the effort had to be made and will continue to have to be made. The world is not getting larger while the population continues to grow.
Nor is the Left the only side to come up with government programs that don't work as intended (or at all) - nor can the problems be solved by keeping government out of it. My view is that these problems are really, really difficult and thus mistakes are inevitable. All we can hope for is the flexibility to recognize the mistakes quickly and move on.
Whenever we try to have government determine what to do, we end up with every vested interest lined up with their beggars cups wanting part of the action. Most of the time actions is delayed or never happens. Look at how long it took to build a small freeway in N. Cali after the big earthquake. Every special interest group in N. California got paid off. Later in S. California when more freeways dropped, they let the private sector do its thing. In less than a year the freeways were replaced in S. Cali.. We took over 10 years up here and parts of some interchanges are still screwed up!
Then, when corporations get the government involved to help them make money instead of innovative new ways to make money, we end up with massive disasters on that end! Enron was involved with the Clintoons throughout X42's term. Favors were done and Enron benefitted from political $'s instead better business technologies. When all of this comes, out we will see Ken Lay in bed with the Clintoons and their people for over 8 years, from sweetheart deals in India to the Kyota Global Warming farce.
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