INDIVIDUAL.COM

Here's an article recommended by: Karen  Denne
and it comes to you via Individual.com, Inc.

The following message was attached:


HERE IS THE STORY WE WERE REQUESTED TO SEND YOU

This story appeared on http://www.individual.com December 11, 2000
_________________________________________________________

Calif. Restarts Dirty Power Plants



By JENNIFER COLEMAN
Associated Press Writer
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) via NewsEdge Corporation  -
Hoping to ease the state's electricity
crisis, air-quality regulators Friday allowed the restart of
several power plants in Southern California that had been shut down
because they had reached air pollution limits.


The move came a day after California encountered an
unprecedented power crunch, with electricity supplies for the
state's 34 million people so perilously low that California only
narrowly avoided blackouts.


The power crunch has been blamed on cold weather in the
Northwest, the shutdown of some generating plants for repairs or
other reasons, and the effects of utility deregulation in
California.


On Thursday, during the emergency, power plants capable of
producing 2,400 megawatts were off-line because they had exceeded
their pollution limits. One megawatt is sufficient to power about
1,000 homes.


On Friday, the South Coast Air Quality Management District
agreed to let some of those polluting power plants return to
operation and restore about half of that lost generating capacity.
However, those plants will have to pay daily fines.


Restarting the over-polluting plants should provide a cushion
for state, said Stephanie McCorkle, a spokeswoman for the
California Independent System Operator, which runs the state's
power grid.


In addition, hundreds of companies voluntarily cut consumption
Friday to avoid imposed outages.


``We're still encouraging conservation efforts,'' said Lori
O'Donley, spokeswoman for the ISO. ``We're optimistic that we won't
have to'' impose shutdowns on commercial customers.


Federal energy regulators are working with the state to find
power that can be diverted to California during the crunch, moves
that could include increasing hydroelectric generation out of
state.


The power grid's managers were able to avoid blackouts Thursday
by shutting down the enormous state and federal pumps that push
water from Northern California to central and southern regions.


The phased-in deregulation of California's $20 billion
electrical power industry was supposed to lower prices by creating
greater competition. But demand for electricity has outstripped
supply, in part because of a growing population and a booming
high-tech economy.


Electricity is also in short supply because energy companies
held off building new power plants while deregulation was in the
planning stages. In addition, deregulation has forced utilities to
sell off their power-generating assets, such as dams and plants,
and import electricity from neighboring states, where power demand
is high right now because of a cold snap.





_________________________________________________________

Individual.com is the #1 provider of free, individualized news
and information to business people over the Internet.  Visit us at
http://www.individual.com to browse the largest free collection of business,
financial, industry, trade, and company-specific news and information
on the web.

This news story was sent by Karen  Denne through Individual.com.
You will not receive email messages directly from Individual.com
unless you register at http://www.individual.com.

Get more headlines and stories like this delivered FREE to your
desktop every business morning! Register at 
http://www.individual.com/welcome.shtml.

Individual.com also brings you FREE news on your investments!
Sign up at http://www.individual.com/welcome.shtml.
___________________________________________________________

Entire contents Copyright , 1999-2000, Individual.comv, Inc.,
8 New England Executive Park, Burlington, MA, 01803, USA