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Charles Feldman: California faces down its power crisis

Charles Feldman

CNN Correspondent Charles Feldman is covering California's efforts to keep the lights on as neighboring states and the White House urge California to solve the power crisis.

Q: What is happening now?

FELDMAN: There is a bit of good news for Californians as we head toward the weekend. A major power generating plant along the coast in central Northern California is expected to come back on line after being down for maintenance. The plant, capable of generating 750 megawatts -- enough to power a million homes -- had been down for maintenance. Power officials believe the plant's additional power may head off the possibility of rolling blackouts next week, if no other problems develop with major generation plants in the state.

Q: Is the government doing anything?

FELDMAN: California did a dress rehearsal auction Tuesday and Wednesday to see what kinds of prices electric generating companies would be willing to charge for long-term contracts. The 27 hours of bidding stopped at noon Wednesday and we don't know yet how enthusiastically companies bid, or whether the bids were within the range Gov. Gray Davis had indicated he is willing to pay. The bids were not binding, just an effort to test the waters.

Q: What options does the state have?

FELDMAN: The Bush administration has made it clear to California politicians that two weeks is it for the federal emergency order that has forced out-of-state generators to sell excess power to California utilities. Lawmakers are expected by the Bush administration to use that two-week period constructively to come up with a plan to ease the crisis.

In comparison, the Clinton administration extended the emergency order four times. So right now the biggest hope seems to be some sort of plan so the state could become the buyer of electricity, using its good credit rating. There is also some talk of a plan by legislators to take over hydroelectric dams in the state.

Q: With neighboring states facing low water levels, could they also have power woes in the future?

FELDMAN: A lot depends on the weather. If things stay warm, which reduces the need for natural gas to power electrical generators and for electric heating, it is not likely that the Pacific Northwest states would suffer a power crisis. But that could change if there's a sudden cold snap, or in the coming months, a summer heat wave.

That would produce a spiked increase in Oregon and Washington State and there is only so much they could stretch their resources and still be able to sell to California.

But at the moment, there seems to be enough electricity for their own state and to sell to California

Q: Will voters hold the power crisis against Davis?

FELDMAN: Thus far, the governor remains fairly popular, according to polls, although there has been some slippage. And if you segregate the issue from the total picture and ask people how the governor is handling the crisis, the view is not so bright as his overall approval ratings.

Davis still remains popular because most folks don't hold him directly responsible, at least not yet. They either don't believe there is an energy crisis (that is all a manipulation by power generating companies) or they think the crisis is a result of his predecessor Pete Wilson or they blame legislators for enacting sloppy deregulation law.

The governor also benefits greatly from the fact that many of state's large population centers like Los Angeles do not face any threats from power blackouts because those communities have municipal utilities generating their own power and don't buy it on the open spot market. Should the threat of blackouts spread to highly populated areas, the governor's popularity would take a serious nose-dive.

Q: Why is California in such trouble?

FELDMAN: in the view of some, California is running short of power because they haven't really built a major generating plant in 10 years. That is attributed to Californians being zealous about conservation and ecology. That's one of the issues that is coming into play: a balancing act between how much you're willing to sacrifice electrical power that is the life blood of modern society in exchange for stricter environmental laws. There are politicians who feel you can't have your cake and eat it, too; that you may not be able to have as strict environmental laws as California does when trying to have adequate electricity to make the state work.

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Dynegy
PG&E Corporation
SoCal Edison
  • Deregulation - What this means to you - Electricity Market Issues
California Power Exchange
System Conditions - The California ISO
California Public Utilities Commission
California Utilities Emergency Association

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