Heat Threatens California Power

Hot temperatures into the weekend could continue to jeopardize power supplies as Southern California recovers from outages resulting from record power usage, authorities warned.

Rolling blackouts have not taken place in the state since 2001, but state power officials say they could be making a comeback, reports CBS News Correspondent Steve Futterman.

Southern California Edison set a record demand on Thursday, supplying about 21,800 megawatts, which surpassed the previous record of 21,112 megawatts set Wednesday. A megawatt is enough power to serve about 750 average homes.

Edison shut off power to more than 155,000 residential air conditioners under a program that offers people reduced rates if they agree to power cuts when demand gets high, Edison spokesman Gil Alexander said.

The city's Department of Water and Power and Southern California Edison also saw record usage and customers suffered several minor outages, according to Marie Lemelle, a DWP spokeswoman. The DWP provided 5,661 megawatts, eclipsing the old record of 5,643, which was set in 1998, she said.

In California and throughout the West, one word described the conditions outside:

"It's hot!"

"Do you like it?" Futterman asked the woman in Los Angeles.

"Hate it!"

But other Angelenos were rather stoic about it.

"The first thing is, you stop saying how awful it is," counseled a man.
Electricity demand soared as record heat continued to pummel the western United States, where 200 heat records have fallen in the last 10 days, according to the National Weather Service. Locally, Woodland Hills and Chatsworth sweltered under all-time high temperatures of 106 and 105 degrees, respectively. Each exceeded their previous highs by two degrees, the agency said.

The California Independent System Operator, the agency that controls most of the state's electrical flow, declared a Stage 2 power alert for Southern California on Thursday afternoon. These alerts occur when reserves dip to below 5 percent of generating capacity.

"We have something we don't have very often, and that's high temperatures throughout the state, and we're breaking records all over the place," said Michael Shames, executive director of the Utility Consumers' Action Network, a San Diego consumer group.

Adding to the problem, power plants that could provide 4,600 megawatts of power were out of service, including some unexpected outages in Southern California, said Cal-ISO spokeswoman Stephanie McCorkle.

State energy officials have warned for months that hot summer weather could threaten power supplies. Southern California is particularly vulnerable because demand is high and it suffers from transmission line bottlenecks.

"This is like we're in the middle of the desert," said another woman in Los Angeles.