Rolling Blackouts Hit California

[R Markoff]

First all of the rain, then astronomical increases in the cost of electricity, worker's comp rates, health insurance premiums, then the plunging economy which really slowed business, now rolling blackouts have hit San Diego.

Without warning, the power company is cutting power for an hour to an hour and a half in various sections of the city. We don't know at what moment they will hit, or for how long.

Boy, the lines at computer stores and office supply stores to buy UPS (uninterruptable power supplies) are growing! Rule number one, save your work frequently and back up all of your critical data daily! AND buy a UPS so you won't lose the data from the project you are working on.

Today's blackout came at the lunch hour where one of my stores is located. All of the restaurants in the area lost thousands of dollars and many gave what little food they had away because they couldn't ring it up!

Imagine what happened at the one hour photo labs when the film processors died with the film in them? Maybe we will batch our vacation photos next time so we won't lose
all of our pictures if it happens when running our film.

We have electronic phones and they did not operate because the power was off. We have now installed direct lines ahead of the KSU and have standard phones to use as a back up in case of another blackout.

Can you imagine having just sprayed a poster with vacuum spray and putting it in the press, or being in the middle of a chop with a saw, or running a piece of acrylic through the saw, or having something in the heat press and having the power die without warning? I wonder if our insurance will cover ruining a piece of customer's art because the power was cut off?

All of the traffic lights just went out without warning. Traffic was a mess.

This is a very scary thing because we don't know when it will happen next or to which part of the city. Do you keep your employees at work doing nothing, or do you send them home?

Tonight on the news they said to expect it to get worse as the summer approaches and energy use increases.

[jframe]

I am so sad about what is happening in California. My ex & I left chose to leave in 1977 because of traffic and too many people in; Ojai. The problems have compounded since then. It is a georgeous state with the huge problems that come with over population.

Can you use back up generators? It would help to use them long enough to properly shut down operations. The expense of liviing with this boggles my mind. I usually to turn problems around and try to see the good, but I see no good here. The problem has to be solved.

[Susan May]

As for whether or not to send your employees home, there should be some jobs that can be done in the dark. They can wash the windows, clean the bathrooms, hand cut mats, take out trash, and even mount stitchery. I have had times when I had to watch the front of our store, which means I couldn't work on fit ups, or mats, but I could mount stitchery. The customers that were able to see the process were so impressed that I took great care with the other customers work that I got more jobs.

Try to keep a smile on your face, and look at it as an opportunity to get the shop clean.

Good Luck!

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Sue May :)
"You want it when?!?!?"

[artist]

I knew big brother was watching out there in CA., but I didn't know he was controling the utilities. SAD. I used to work the shipyards in the area, and I am wondering how they feel about losing power during some of the critical operations? Good luck !!!

[Cookie]

I was lucky - it didn't hit my area - but today's another day. Seems to me if the have some control the power should be turned off in residental areas instead of commercial areas during working hours.

I think I'll avoid all elevators on stage 2 alert days. http://www.thegrumble.com/framer/ubbs/confused.gif

[JRB]

Hi Rob,
I was lucky yesterday, it missed me, my business took a nosedive anyway. I guess people didn't feel like shopping. I don't know if it was all that sunshine yesterday or the power situation or the stock market. Probably all of them.

I liked Jframe's idea of a generator, I think I'll look into that today. If my phones will work, that is.

Good luck today,

John

[John Gornall CPF]

The one hour photo labs should not spoil your film. The film processors have a hand crank to keep the film moving and if the operators are properly trained those films in the machine should come out fine just needing to be hung up to dry.

[Bob Carter]

Cookie-I agree there should be some selective blackout areas to help the rest of the public. My first choice would be the Sierra Club's offices.

[Lance E]

I'm not sure what the situation is there for security when this happens, the biggest problem we have here is shoplifting, when power goes out (it happens 2-3 times/year) we have a policy that ALL staff make for the showroom ASAP. John is right all the labs have a hand crank for just this situation, there may be a couple of shots lost though if the film is still feeding into the machine before the end is chopped, especially nasty if a 24 and a 36 are loaded side by side!

[Marc Lzier]

While nationwide news media, as well as those adversely affected have been very vocal in the energy problems including PG & E and SCE debt problems, price increases, and energy availability, those un affected in the state has chosen to remain quiet, and in general have not been covered by the media, because No Problems equals No News.
Just to clear this up for Y'all: municipalities that have chosen to not invest in power generation facilities (the municipality builds owns, maintains and operates the facilities), and rely purchasing energy from private power providers (called Public Utilities because of the regulation and restrictions and accountability they are subject to) are the folks hit by this.

For instance The City Los Angeles has it's own power generation facilities. And has done so for at least 80 years. The City has invested in building more and upgrading as the city has grown. It is not cheap to build power plants, but the city would rather carry the debt burden and have the power bills pay off the debt and operating costs, instead of purchasing on the open market. We have not had a raise in power costs for 4 years, and the Mayor announced 2 months ago, that prices will remain the same for a year or longer. The LA DWP is actually selling surplus power on the open market, and with the rules of supply and demand is making a killing. In the largest city, and most power intensive user in the state, there is no power crisis, nor is there in the near future. Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena are also cities with self-sufficient power.
This does not mean LA County is not having problems. Other municipalities within the County, but incorporated cites with their own Police Department, Fire Department, but thru lack of foresight, no "Power Department" such as Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, or West Hollywood that purchase from SCE, have had power outages.

Of course as a city we are being encouraged to save power like everyone else. Of course this means more surplus power for the city to sell on the open market. Just a year or two ago The Los Angeles Airport installed this really cool kinetic illuminated sculpture. It was made to use efficient illumination. However since it seemed gratuitous to leave it on all night with a "Power Crisis" in the state, the Airport Authority now turns it off around midnight. The irony is that the Airport has it's own on-site power generation facilities. The sculpture did not draw power from the city (that did not have a crisis anyways) but from the Airport Authority owned power facility. Thus the Airport has more surplus power to sell on "The grid" and make some cash on.
Rob,
I feel for you. But any city, in any state, that develops and then just "plugs into the grid" to gain all of its power will eventually have the same problems. What is publicized in our state will eventually happen across the country in many fast-developing municipalities/communities with out a plan for power sufficiency.

[alan beitz]

It goes on all over the world -lots of brains but no common sense . In this little town we live in , we had our own power station for as long back as I can remember - then the economic rationalists had a top idea - we can hook into the grid and not have to worry about maintainence or any of those sorts of things . After a while , another brainwave - a new natural gas fired power station - spent millions and got it setup and then our first poweroutage in years and guess what - no electricity to start the generators - and to think we are paying these boofheads .
It gets a bit scarey when you realize these people and others like them are running the place . Oh well , I think I'll go back to my red . Bye for now . Alan

[Cookie]

The privately owned utilities & publicly owned utilities (like DWP) are under slightly different regulations. Privately owned ones were forced to sell off a percentage of their generating facilities. Then they were regulated as to how much they could charge the customers, but not as to how much they would pay. Since they not only sold off the percentage required, but most all of their generating facilities, they are having to purchase it elsewhere. How long would a frame shop be able to function when it could only charge a customer $1.00 per foot of moulding, but had to pay $5.00 on the open market. That's one reason (among others) that the companies are going broke.

[LBFOOTE]

Wow! I am learning and understanding the power crisis on this Grumble much better than from the news sources. Thanks for the info. California's problem will soon be America's problem. We all need to know what is going on.

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LBFOOTE

[Jim Miller]

Originally posted by LBFOOTE:
..."California's problem will soon be America's problem. We all need to know what is going on."

I sincerely hope that California's problem will *not* spread to the rest of us. Yes, we should all make it our business to know what's going on. Many thanks to those who posted above, for giving us insights we don't get from the news media.

We Americans are fortunate to have the technology and resources to generate & distribute all the power we could possibly need. While Californians have made poor choices regarding their power, the rest of us should take their plight as a wake-up call.

[Bob Carter]

Hear! Hear! Jim's right on the money. Like with so many other problems that have been resolved in our country, the solution lies somewhere in the middle. The extremists on BOTH sides make life tough on those of us in the middle. Just like a marriage, a friendship or a partnership, a little compromise goes a long way. Let's hope the Californians find some room to balance the needs for all citizens.

[Susan May]

Let's just hook up all those exercise bikes' and tread mills' to generators. Just think of the advertising campaign, "Loose weight and reduce your energy bills at the same time. Get credit for exercise!"



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Sue May :)
"You want it when?!?!?"

[John Gornall CPF]

Another little bit of the electrical story: up here in British Columbia we produce more power than we need so we sell it. The electrical company is a government owned corporation. Every residence using power was just given a 200 dollar credit. Thanks California. Mostly this is BS because we have an election coming shortly. However as we have had the dryest year with the least snow in 100 years we won't be able to supply as much power next year. We're also making a bundle on gas but as gas is operated by non government corporations we're also paying the big rates. However our government is collecting a pile of taxes from the sales of gas. Us little guys don't usually win but in this case we seem to be ahead a little.

[This message has been edited by John Gornall CPF (edited March 21, 2001).]

[MerpsMom]

The present energy setup in California has me as baffled as anything ever has. While there in February, we read everything possible to understand how in God's name such a completely untenable situation was allowed to develop. The very first rule of economics is that you must sell what you purvey for more than you paid for it, or you're broke. Who allowed this inane idea into the arena? Politics always plays a part; but as an end result, this seems a disaster even the politically motivated could foresee. You all in the know: is there a website, periodical, book, anything which can explain the problem without being extremist?

And as an aside, blacking out areas with no warning is completely incomprehensible: couldn't they be sued for subsequent accidents?

[This message has been edited by MerpsMom (edited March 21, 2001).]

[Audrey]

I, too, was a little bit in the dark on the blackouts, even though my brother's going to school in Cali and I have friends there. No one seemed able to explain it. LOL Thanks, Grumblers--you're just founts of info. http://www.thegrumble.com/framer/ubbs/smile.gif

I don't understand why FEMA isn't involved in this--why no one is stepping in to take care of this? When the weather gets hotter and tempers rise with the temperature, I can only IMAGINE the kind of mayhem that will ensue out there. And what about all that equipment that isn't designed to be shut on and off like that, with no warning? And all the computers, etc., that are experiencing technical snafus as a result? This is absurd! What is the government waiting for? A riot?

I've been told that a lot of Silicon Valley guys are looking to bail to Austin, here in TX, now. LOL We have nuclear power here....I don't see blackouts as a problem any time soon. LOL (San Antonio also owns and runs its own power plant. Thank God.)

I feel for you guys out there. http://www.thegrumble.com/framer/ubbs/frown.gif

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I don't care what color your sofa is.

[Cookie]

This whole issue hits close to home for me. My husband works for the utility & in my pre-framer life I did too. Most the info I have comes from listening to him. There is blame to go all around. Politicians with their own agendas, Utility executives making some bad decisions, environmentalists & nimby's for blocking building of new power plants (none in the last 12 years with an exploding population), those who pushed for de-regulation thinking a monopoly was bad, new companies that bought the power generation facilities and are now charging outrageously for power. Its a very complex problem with no easy answers.

Many businesses will probably leave the state if this keeps up. My favorite breakfast place went out of business due to high utility bills. http://www.thegrumble.com/framer/ubbs/frown.gif That of course will do wonders to property values and on and on and on. Of course it'll have an effect on our business too, not to mention the $$ we have invested in company stock that is going down down down.

By the way a nimby means "Not In My Back Yard"

[Charles Lowry]

I agree, Cookie. I worked for a utility for 30 years. I'm sure some of the Californians have a different take on it, but I couldn't believe it when I first heard that someone had proposed they de-regulate the power companies. Same thing happened to AT&T, remember? Everybody wanted in, they were 'split up' and look at the mess we have now!! Some things are better left alone.
Joe's Power Company may have a 'right', by law to compete, but he isn't PG&E. With the ATT breakup, MCI was the only 'Joe's Phone Company' that did really good, and their rates are h-i-g-h...There are some others, but they are mostly spin-off from parent companies, like Sprint, and their rates are high, too. People don't HAVE to call long distance, but, with power, it's a captive market. I figured it'd be trouble, but never knew how bad.

Maybe someone will propose some smart legislation to provide a fix for the situation out there. I hope so, for the sake of the folks that live there.

[Marc Lizer]

Rob,

Have power costs come down for you?

Have you needed to raise prices to compensate?

[EllenAtHowards]

So, is this like April Fool only about 6 weeks late? I read this and wondered "why on earth wasn't this mentioned on the news last night?" then to discover that this was LAST YEAR! Don't these threads ever expire? :confused:

[JRB]

Had me going, I watched the news last night, not a mention of it.

Even if this is last years, it doesn't mean it wont happen this year. Thanks for bringing it up again Marc.

Power costs are just a little more than they were before that fiasco all started last year. I'm sure they will use this summers heat as an excuse to make it even higher.

My store is located in an area of the city where a lot of San Diego Gas & Electric executives live. My house is right next door to one of their top executives, so neither one was affected by rolling blackouts last year, hopfully it will be the same this year.

John

[Dermot]

An interesting spin to this story is that the GE generators that are used (for extra energy) in California for the heat in summer are shipped to Ireland to cope with the cold here in winter, we have a lack of energy generation in Ireland at present due to the huge growth in our population over the last few years, this is another example of Irish/US commercial corporation, the fact that the generators are shared helps to reduce the cost of energy, you should see the generators being moved on our roads over here they are VERY BIG.

[Marc Lizer]

Actually what made me think of the tread was Enron making the California news because Lawmakers are finding documents that lead to showing that Enron, in part, manufactured the shortages to try and get the Independent Operator to request the Price Caps be removed.

The ploy worked.

They now wonder if the Independent Operator was manipulated or in collusion.

While blackouts are probally not going to happen again, I was wondering about the monetaray inpact on those affected. We had no blackouts or price increases because LA City has it's own power generation, and it is City owned, not a For Profit company. They even sell excess energy to the state. My brother who lives in LA County has had big jumps in his home electricity bill.

[tom davis]

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Thanks for your patients, framer

Rolling power outages in California, what about the outage here on the Grumble. Every time this site gets shut down lately for one reason or other there are thousands of Grumblers left sitting in front of there pc's wondering what to do. Staring at the screen feeling like they have just lost their best friend, I'm sure no one feels that way when the power goes off.
Lance
That is truly sad that you have to worry about theft more than customer and employee safety when your lights go out, surly there still cant be any criminals alive that were sent to the colonies in the 1800s. Isn't it a shame that people's personalities change and there worst side comes out when something like that happens? tdavis