Energy alert forces early closure of City Hall, library

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- California’s power crisis hit home for some

residents and city employees as the doors of City Hall and the Central

Library closed early for a day in an effort to save electricity and avoid

hefty penalties.

More than 400 employees left City Hall, 2000 Main St., by 11 a.m.

Friday to go home or relocate to an alternative location for the rest of

the workday. The Huntington Beach Police Department, also at the same

address, remained open, however.

The decision was prompted by the city’s need to avoid costly fines by

Southern California Edison Co. for using electricity during a Stage 2 or

Stage 3 energy alert. In exchange for a reduced electricity rate, the

city agreed to curtail its energy usage at the library and City Hall

during such alerts.

Some residents were caught off-guard by the closure of the Central

Library, 7111 Talbert Ave.

“This is really the first time it’s affected us personally,” 20-year

resident Pug Pierce said of the state’s energy crisis. “We have

flashlights and try to conserve as much as we can, but we never saw the

rolling blackouts like the ones in Northern California.”

Pierce had brought his son Adam, 13, to the library to work on a

school report but went home empty-handed.

Similarly, Stanton students Jeanie Nguyen and Cindy Bui, both 13,

found themselves up a creek with a school report on industry due Monday

and a closed library.

“This whole energy thing is bad because now we can’t do our homework,”

Cindy said, adding that the need to save as much electricity as possible

was made much clearer.

The state Public Utilities Commission suspended the power interruption

agreement hours after the closures, but not before the city racked up a

hefty $835,000 in fines for operating during the interruptions over the

last two months and resulted in Friday’s cost-saving measures.

“It was certainly a little more lively around here than normal,” said

Michael Mudd, the city’s cultural services manager. “But I think

everything worked out well.”

The Huntington Beach Art Center, Mudd’s home office, also became the

temporary home for the city’s treasurer and public information office,

where the departments worked together while local artists submitted

artwork to the center.

City Clerk Connie Brockway said employees in her office went home with

preassigned work, while other departments packed community centers and

redirected office phone calls to personal phone calls to deal with the

closures.

City officials said some Central Library services, such as meeting

rooms, were open Friday night. City Hall resumed its normal hours Monday.