-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! Tuesday May 15 1:36 PM ET Calif. Summer Blackouts to Be Worse Than Expected By Patrick Connole WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Electricity shortages in California this summer will be worse than state authorities had predicted, with blackout-weary consumers facing 30 percent more outages than previously forecast, the North American power grid overseer said on Tuesday. The industry-led North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) also said New York City and New England had tight electricity supplies and could have occasional outages if equipment or power lines broke down. But the situation is dire in California, the nation's richest and most populous state. Californians could see as many as 260 hours of rolling blackouts during the sweltering summer months, affecting everything from traffic lights to hospital equipment. Previous estimates by the California Independent System Operator (ISO) and Western authorities estimated the state would have about 200 hours of rotating blackouts this summer. ``California will experience difficulties meeting its projected electricity demand this summer and California electricity users will experience rotating blackouts, much more so than last summer,'' said NERC president Michehl Gent at a news conference to unveil the group's summer power outlook. TIGHT SUPPLIES IN NORTHEAST NERC, which was formed in 1965 after blackouts crippled New York City and other locales, said the northeast also had precariously tight supplies. ``New England and New York City are particularly sensitive to long-term heat waves and high-than-expected generating unit forced outages,'' the NERC report said. The New York Independent System Operator (ISO), a non-profit entity that dispatches electricity throughout the state, has developed an emergency program for peak periods. That plan calls for industrial customers with emergency back-up generators to use their own equipment when power supplies drop below a certain level to free up power for other users. A key issue for New York City is the speedy completion of 11 combustion turbines now under construction, NERC said. The turbines will generate a combined total of about 480 megwatts, and would operate during peak demand hours of the late afternoon and early evening. Experts say 1,000 megawatts is roughly enough power to serve 1 million homes. Texas, which is seen as having ample power supplies, also will be monitored closely because of state deregulation changes next month, NERC said. ``Texas will undergo a major shift in its operation in June when it opens up to full retail access and consolidates 10 control area operations into one,'' NERC said. Continent-wide, the overseer said no other regions were expected to suffer shortages. That includes the drought-stricken Pacific Northwest, which should be able to meet its own needs for electricity, even though hydroelectric resources are suffering from the lack of rain. That drought will prevent sales of hydro power to California, which depends on the electricity to ease supply crunches during the hottest months. GOLDEN STATE WOES For months, federal and state politicians and regional power experts have issued warnings about the summer shortfalls hitting California. NERC said the balance between supply and demand was worse than previously expected. The state's ``deficiencies will be more severe than California ISO's expected conditions,'' NERC said. The industry group said supply shortages will range from about 4,500 to 5,500 megawatts during peak demand times each summer month. That is about 2,000 to 4,000 megawatts greater than state projections. California may experience operating emergencies due to the state's reliance on once-plentiful hydro resources, NERC said. The average size of each rolling blackout -- or the amount of power lacking -- will be about 2,150 megawatts, it said. Under ``best case'' scenarios the state could have as much as 2,500 megawatts capacity surplus over its required needs, but that under a ``worst case'' the power grid could be deficient by as much as 13,000 megawatts. ``Both of these cases are deemed unlikely,'' NERC added. California's chronic power crisis has already forced PG&E Corp's Pacific Gas & Electric unit -- the state's biggest utility -- to file for bankruptcy protection. The state's flawed 1996 deregulation law forced utilities to absorb sharply higher wholesale prices instead of passing them through to customers. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. 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