Breaking News: CA Governor Declares State of Emergency 
posted 2:37 AM (CST) Jan 18, 2001 
Late Wednesday following a day of rolling blackouts and the prospect for more 
with electricity supplies drying up throughout the West, California Gov. Gray 
Davis declared a state of emergency due to the power shortage and directed 
the state water resources department to begin securing power supplies for the 
beleaguered state grid. In making the bold move, Gov. Davis also announced 
that his conservation plan for state facilities and operations already has 
reached its goal of reducing energy use by more than 5%. 
In the emergency proclamation, the governor said that electricity presently 
available through California three major investor-owned utilities is 
"insufficient to prevent widespread and prolonged disruptions of electric 
service," and thus, he was ordering all state agencies to use their resources 
to do whatever they can to alleviate the power shortage. Then he went on to 
specifically empower the water resources agency, which has been a key player 
in helping the state's transmission grid operator (Cal-ISO) narrowly avoid 
blackouts or avoid them being felt more pervasively throughout the state. 
Noting that peak electrical loads for state buildings and institutions are on 
target for a 200 MW reduction and the water resources department peak pumping 
load has been reduced by 450 MW, Gov. Davis lauded Californians for having 
"stepped up to the plate and dramatically reduced their appetite for 
electricity," noting that the state already is 47th in the nation among the 
lowest per-capita energy use and the state's electricity prices are the 10th 
highest in the nation.