California Expected to Meet Summer Energy Demand

By Ed Joyce / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published April 28, 2008 at 10:15 AM PDT

This story was published more than 15 years ago.

California should have enough power to keep the lights on and air conditioners humming this summer. The operators of the state's power grid say some voluntary conservation measures may be needed in So

California should have enough power to keep the lights on and air conditioners humming this summer. The operators of the state's power grid say some voluntary conservation measures may be needed in Southern California to reduce strain on the system. KPBS Reporter Ed Joyce has more.

The California Independent System Operator Corporation or CAL-ISO, expects the power grid to withstand summer energy demand. The assessment isn't a firm prediction of what will happen. CAL-ISO says it's a possibility of what conditions California will face when air conditioning use increases along with the temperatures.

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CAL-ISO President and CEO Yakout Mansour says there will likely be days where users from Los Angeles to San Diego will be asked to voluntarily reduce electricity use.

Mansour: We will likely call upon conservation and demand response more than before, especially in Southern California. But the likelihood of a Stage 3 is still low.

Demand response is a way to manage customer demand, such as conservation, based on available supplies. Stage 3 alerts include rotating outages to prevent larger uncontrolled outages around the state.

Ed Joyce, KPBS News.

Ed Joyce

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Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.

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