West Coast energy crisis heightened by cold in Northwest

Monday, December 11th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Cold weather in the Pacific Northwest continued to strain power supplies across the West Coast but the crunch was eased somewhat Monday morning when a nuclear plant returned to full power.

The Independent System Operator, which manages the power grid that serves 75 percent of California, called off its emergency alerts early Monday but urged residents to continue conservation efforts, including keeping holiday lights off until 7 p.m.

The Northwest Emergency Response Team, comprising utilities and lawmakers from Oregon, Washington, Montana and Idaho, met Sunday and reissued a Stage Two warning for the region.

Temperatures have been about 15 degrees below normal in the Northwest, and while the cold snap isn't expected to be as harsh as predicted, forecasters still expect temperatures to remain below normal this week.

``Just about every degree above what was previously expected makes things a little bit better,'' said forecaster Jay Albrecht of the National Weather Service.

The weather in the Northwest also affects California because natural gas used to generate electricity may be diverted to Washington and Oregon to heat homes and offices.

Stage Two emergencies, indicating power reserves are at less than 5 percent, were issued in California each day last week. An unprecedented Stage Three emergency was issued Thursday, meaning reserves had fallen below 1 1/2 percent and the threat of rolling outages loomed.

Electricity deregulation, the cold and rising energy costs have been blamed for the state's recent power problems.

California approved a phased-in deregulation of the electricity market in 1996 in an effort to lower prices for consumers through competition, but so far it has led to higher energy prices. The Northwest, which relies on hydroelectric power, has struggled with low water supplies and has had to import electricity.

Meanwhile, wholesale power costs have been soaring, due in large part to skyrocketing prices for natural gas.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday approved lifting price caps on wholesale California electricity to ease the power crunch. The order means the $250 per megawatt hour limit for wholesale electricity can be exceeded if the sellers can justify the costs.

``I think in essence what we have to do is transition to a deregulated market,'' California Gov. Gray Davis told KCAL-TV on Sunday night. ``We're not prepared for full deregulation now.''

Even so, Davis opposed the commission's action on grounds it will lead to higher energy costs.

The energy shortage was helped Monday when the second unit at California's Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant went online four hours earlier than expected after a maintenance shutdown. The plant's two unit provides power for about 2 million people.

``Things are still tight because we're depending on imports from the Northwest, which is still in a warning alert,'' said Jim Detmers, managing director of operations for ISO.

But while Southern California had enough resources Monday morning, Northern California could still face shortages, Detmers said.

In another move that may ease the energy crunch, Kaiser Aluminum Corp. said Sunday that it has begun a temporary shutdown of a smelter it operates in Mead, Wash.

``The Northwest region needs energy now to cover its deficit, and we have energy that we believe can benefit the region and its residents,'' said Raymond J. Milchovich, president and chief executive officer of Kaiser's Houston-based operating subsidiary.

The shutdown _ expected to be complete in several days _ would completely idle Kaiser's smelting capacity in the Northwest. Its Tacoma, Wash., smelter was shut down in June.

About 400 hourly employees will be affected by the Mead shutdown, the company said.