City prepares for summertime energy emergencies

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- City officials are meeting with the Southern

California Edison Co. in hopes of honing reaction and preparation time

during Stage 3 energy emergencies this summer.

“We want as much information as they can provide us so when or if

there is a blackout, we have adequate resources,” said Rich Barnard, the

city’s spokesman. “That way we can make sure we’re doing our job and

assisting the public.”

The state’s Public Utilities Committee, he added, issued an order

earlier this year directing Edison to meet with Huntington Beach

officials, and its Northern California counterpart Pacific Gas & Electric

Co. to meet with San Francisco officials. Both cities complained that

rolling blackout warnings were neither specific, nor early enough, to be

effective.

Representatives from Edison and the city have already met once to

discuss Stage 3 notification procedures, and a second meeting is in the

planning stages. Results from the discussions will then be presented in a

report to the state commission, city officials said.

“I expect a lot of this has to do with the information [on Stage 3

emergencies] that’s available through Independent System Operator, how

soon we get it and if there’s a reasonable time to get that information

to respective cities,” said Jerry Dominguez, Edison’s general manager.

“Normally, that’s about 15 minutes.”

The California Independent System Operator manages the flow of

electricity along the long-distance, high-voltage power lines that

comprise most of the state’s energy transmission system.

Because talks are still ongoing, Dominguez added, additional details

are confidential.

City officials said they only hope to improve the communication

between Edison and Huntington Beach, in order to more efficiently

distribute the resources required.

“We have portable trailer generators that tie right into our sewer

lift stations to power them during blackouts,” said Robert Beardsley, the

city’s director of public works. “We need to know exactly where the

electricity is out, and when, so we can send a generator to take over the

job.”

Other problems such as the termination of a Stage 3 alert not making

its way back to the city, therefore causing hours of unneeded

preparations and overtime, have also cropped up, city officials added.