Consumers are power hungry in Orange County and across California. We use four times more electricity per person than Brazil by indulging in energy-sucking products such as plasma TVs, computers, air-conditioning systems, stereos, spare refrigerators and spas.
Consumers are power hungry in Orange County and across California.
We use four times more electricity per person than Brazil by indulging in energy-sucking products such as plasma TVs, computers, air-conditioning systems, stereos, spare refrigerators and spas.
"We're more device-oriented than ever," said Scott Samuelsen, head of the Advanced Power and Energy Program at UC Irvine.
Few people, especially among the gadget-oriented generations, stop and ask: How much do I use? Am I wasting any?
Maybe more would if they considered the numbers: During the 2001 energy crisis, Californians stepped up and saved about 3,000 megawatts on hot summer days. That's enough to power nearly 2.3 million homes for a day, according to the California Independent System Operator, or Cal-ISO, which controls 75 percent of the state power grid.
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But electricity consumption is ratcheting up again, while conservation efforts appear to be sliding, energy officials say. Last summer, for example, California used so much power during critical afternoon hours that the state broke the five-year-old record for peak demand use seven times.
Electricity use per capita jumped nearly 7 percent in 2004 vs. 2001, according to the California Energy Commission. That's about $52 worth of extra power per person last year.
Here in Orange County, our electric bills are creeping up at roughly the same rate, according to Southern California Edison, the county's primary energy provider.
"The energy crisis has slipped into the past and people aren't as conscious as they were of the benefits of conservation," said Gil Alexander, a spokesman for Edison, which serves 710,303 county residents.
One of those consumers is Rich Calder.
While on summer break, the 34-year-old middle school teacher says he routinely runs his air conditioner at 74 degrees and does his laundry midday while maintaining a pool and heated spa in his Trabuco Canyon back yard.
His monthly electricity tab: $200.
Energy regulators and companies would advise high-power users such as Calder to keep his thermostat at 78 degrees to help conserve power and shave dollars off his electric bill. Calder called the tip unrealistic.
"During the day when it's 90 degrees, 78 is just not cool enough. I need at least 74 degrees and below," he said.
Saving money also doesn't entice him. "I'd rather pay more for comfort than be miserable and save," he said.
For Sandy Thomas, her conservation effort backfired.
This summer she signed up for an Edison program that calls for the provider to shut off her A/C automatically during days when power demand is high. On Saturday, her system turned off. As of Wednesday, her A/C has failed to come back on because the shutoff box broke and Edison hasn't fixed it yet.
"It's frustrating because we were trying to conserve," said Thomas, of Yorba Linda. "Now I just want to remove the box." Company spokesman Marlin Walker apologized, saying Edison will fix it "as quickly as possible." "It's disappointing that she's frustrated with the program particularly because we have so many other customers that realize the benefits," said Walker, adding that 156,000 residents and companies participate.
Though residents like Thomas are giving conservation a shot, data shows consumption is still rising, suggesting that conservation efforts are down -- or at least out of mind.
In California, the amount of power per capita has gone up 466 kilowatt hours since the last crisis -- from 6,818 KWH in 2001 to 7,284 KWH in 2004.
In Orange County, which typically falls below the state average because of the cooler coastal climate, electricity usage has gone up at roughly the same rate, according to John Nall, Edison's manager of residential efficiency program. He estimated that Edison's customers in the county have gone from using 6,100 KWH in 2001 to just under 7,000 KWH last year.
"We saw in 2001 that everyone became incredibly energy efficiency conscious," said Nall. "That average has begun to creep up." Gregg Fishman, a Cal-ISO spokesman, said demand on the state's power supply typically grows 2 percent annually. But in the past two years, it has grown 4 percent a year, he said.
"That doesn't sound like a lot until you consider the consequences when residents don't bother to engage in any conservation efforts," Fishman said.
When the state called for residents to conserve during the 2001 crisis, for example, they responded with enthusiasm, shaving anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 megawatts from the system daily, he said.
That's a lot when you consider 1 megawatt powers 750 homes for a day. "In 2001, conservation was literally the difference between having rotating outages, or not," Fishman said.
Fast forward to today.
With temperatures soaring over the past two weeks, the state has been on the brink of a new record for peak demand each day, Fishman said. (The record is 45,597 megawatts.) On July 14, power use edged up so much that Cal-ISO asked residents for the first time this year to "Flex Your Power," the state's rally call for voluntary conservation during peak afternoon hours.
Californians responded by cutting 860 megawatts from the system that day -- far less than the power reduced during the 2001 crisis.
Fishman said the ISO will take what it can get.
"Would we like to see more? Yes," he said.
UCI's Samuelsen said residents aren't thinking of conservation because there's not a sense of urgency like in 2001, where rolling blackouts were routine and rates higher. Rates for Edison's 13 million consumers have fallen, on average, 13 percent since 2001, said Alexander.
"We live day by day, hour by hour, and if things are going well, we tend not to be on alert," Samuelsen said. "We've been kind of pacified."
PAYING FOR ELECTRICITY: Your electric bill is calculated by how many kilowatt hours (KWH) you consume each month. Since the 2001 energy crisis, Southern California Edison established a tiered rate structure to encourage customers to keep consumption below a preset "baseline." Residents are penalized with higher rates when they exceed the baseline.
In 2001, state residents conserved with per capita yearly use of 6,818 KWH.
In 2004, the per capita electrical consumption went up to 7,284 KWH.
The average cost per KWH is 11.2 cents.
Source: California Energy Commission, SCE
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Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
