In California, they’re talking about rolling blackouts and a mounting death toll from the heat. In Queens, N.Y., anger is growing as a massive power outage enters its 10th day. In St. Louis, more than 150,000 customers still were without electricity Tuesday in the aftermath of storms that knocked out power lines late last week.
Electrical outages have become a ritual of summer more befitting a Third World country than an industrialized nation.
Utilities blame equipment failures due to an overloaded distribution system; record demand as homes are outfitted with power- sucking gadgets; and a heat wave.
Part of the vulnerability of the power system results from deregulation of the electrical power industry. Beginning in 1992, the generation of electricity was freed from strict government controls and companies were allowed to charge market rates for wholesale power. But rates charged to customers remained regulated, and as utilities tried to maximize profits, one of the casualties was routine maintenance.
“As their credit ratings and stock prices fell, utility companies began to cut personnel, training, maintenance, and research,” according to an article published in 2003 by the American Institute of Physics, a non- profit research organization.
In New York, attention is being focused on allegations that Consolidated Edison, the local utility, allowed the system to fall into disrepair. Local media reported the utility budgeted $32 million for maintenance in Queens and Brooklyn over three years, but spent only $27 million. As the mercury has risen, so have the tempers of those involved. When New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended the utility, three Queens elected officials stood behind him rolling their eyes and shaking their heads.
Earlier this month, some Coloradans had a taste of the turmoil as 12,000 customers suffered outages during a record-hot weekend. In February, 325,000 customers lost power during a cold snap. So it was no big surprise last week when J.D. Power & Associates reported that Xcel ranked last for customer satisfaction among 12 large Western electric utilities. Repeated power outages have cost the utility $39.3 million in regulatory penalties.
“Reliability should be an A1 priority,” Jim Greenwood, director of the Colorado Office of Consumer Counsel, a utility oversight agency, told The Post. “Are they spending enough? The answer obviously is no if they continue to have problems.”
Xcel differs, saying it is “investing substantially” in operation and maintenance. The company says that since 2002 it has spent more than $1 billion on the system.
Meanwhile, there seems to be no respite in sight. Temperatures are expected to climb to 110 in parts of California and near 95 in Colorado through the weekend.
While there seems to be no easy prescription for fixing the nation’s fragile electrical systems, utilities need to make proper investment in equipment and training. The PUC should exert maximum influence on Xcel to boost its reliability record. It’s only July.
