Scorching heat pushed California’s electricity supply to the brink Monday as authorities investigated at least 29 possible heat-related deaths, most in the smoldering Central Valley where temperatures reached 115 degrees over the weekend.
An eighth day of intense heat pushed electricity usage to a peak of 50,270 megawatts–a record for California but still short of the 52,000 megawatts experts had predicted for the day.
“It appears we have ridden out this mammoth peak demand without any problems,” said Stephanie McCorkle, spokeswoman for the California Independent System Operator, which manages the state’s power grid. “This was the most strained the system has ever been.”
Authorities had warned that the high demand could lead to rolling blackouts, a dreaded term in California that brings reminders of the widespread blackouts in 2000 and 2001.
Hoping to avoid such blackouts, the California power grid manager declared a “Stage 2” emergency, which calls for businesses to reduce their power usage in exchange for lower rates. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger also directed state agencies to reduce electricity use by 25 percent by turning off unnecessary equipment; he urged local and municipal governments and universities to do the same.
The operating reserve of electricity dipped to about 5 percent, well below the optimal 15 percent or more, but the emergency measures appeared to work. By 5 p.m., officials said the threat of rolling blackouts had passed.
The culprit behind the rash of power failures in most cases is equipment, some of it old and generally unaccustomed to running at such high demand over such a long stretch of hot and humid days, more than two weeks in some places.
Enrique Martinez, the chief operating officer of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, likened the equipment problems to driving a car 100 m.p.h. non-stop for long periods.
“If you continue to do it, it’s going to break down,” he said.
Tens of thousands of homes and businesses lost power in California on Sunday because of heavy electricity use and high temperatures that caused transformers and other equipment to overheat.
About 50,000 customers in Northern California still were without electricity, including 35,000 in San Jose and the East Bay, according to Pacific Gas & Electric. About 20,000 Los Angeles customers also remained without electricity.
The temperatures in Fresno hit a record 113 degrees over the weekend. Fresno County Coroner Loralee Cervantes reported 10 possible heat-related deaths, including a man in his 40s found on a lawn Sunday with a body temperature higher than 109 degrees.
A nursing home patient in Stockton–where the high was 115 on Sunday–died from heat-related stress after the Beverly Healthcare Center’s air conditioning gave out, police said.
At a Quick Lube in Fresno on Monday, workers were trying to let vehicles’ engines cool before changing the oil.
“It’s already hot enough down there,” employee John Taylor said. “The added heat from the cars just makes it unbearable.”
In Arizona, authorities said heat may have contributed to the deaths of as many as four men in the Phoenix area over the weekend.
The deaths came during three days of record-breaking temperatures in Phoenix that soared to 114 degrees Sunday, breaking the record of 112 set in 1906, and hit 114 again Monday, tying the record for the day.
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Misery’s company: Heat’s on, power’s off
MISSOURI
Powerless: More than 200,000 St. Louis homes and businesses.
Patience, please: St. Louis-based utility Ameren Corp. said 90 percent of those without power could have the lights back on by Tuesday, with the rest restored by Wednesday. The power company’s television commercials ask people to be patient.
Home, dark, home: “You’re supposed to have a backup plan in case something like this happens,” said Dana Moorhead, who had no power Monday. “All my food’s gone bad. Just going home is depressing.”
NEW YORK
Powerless: 2,000 customers in Queens, down from a peak of 25,000 homes, buildings and businesses.
Blame game: New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Consolidated Edison officials “have been responsive, they’ve been working well with the city.” But Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, who wants a criminal investigation of the utility, said Bloomberg has his “head in the sand.”
CALIFORNIA
Nobody’s space: The social-networking site MySpace.com suffered two outages over the weekend because of power problems at a data center in the Los Angeles area. The company blamed California’s heat wave.
Powerless: 50,000 customers in the north, plus about 20,000 in Los Angeles.
The toll: Authorities investigating at least 29 possible heat-related deaths, most in the Central Valley region.
ARIZONA
The toll: Heat may have contributed to the deaths of four men in the Phoenix area over the weekend. Sunday’s high of 114 broke the record set in 1906.
