06:00 PM CDT on Monday, April 17, 2006

From 11 News Staff Reports

11 News spoke with two officials about the current electricity emergency in Texas.

AP

Emily Mir Thompson with Centerpoint Energy explained some details about the rolling blackouts and Hadley with the Public Utility Commission spoke a little about what led to the call to conserve.

“At the request of ERCOT, Centerpoint Energy has started periodically dropping customers in 15-minute intervals on a rotating basis,” said Emily Mir Thompson with Centerpoint Energy.  “Currently we have 68,000 customers without power, and that number really varies with each rotation.”

Thompson said will only lose their power for 15 minutes.  It is on a random basis for the entire Houston area so customer will not know when or if their power will go out.

ERCOT has requested companies throughout Texas help conserve power.

“We started doing this around 4:10.  We usually hit peak loads around 5.  So we are hoping this will be taken care of very shortly, but at this point we really just don’t know,” Thompson said.

“What happens is that during April, in the spring, typically some of the electric generators, the power plants go down for some maintenance.  That’s because the temperatures are milder.  Unfortunately, the past few days, for tomorrow at least, we’re going to have high temperatures,” said Terry Hadley with the Public Utility Commission.  “That increases the demand for electricity, which exceeds the available capacity.  And that’s what’s happening for at least another hour or two.

Hadley said because of protocols in place and shutting power down in stages, “there shouldn’t be any undue problems.” 

“What we urge folks to do is conserve as much as possible,” he said.  “And with the increase in rates it’s always a good idea to look at ways you can conserve electricity.  The main thing is maybe set your air conditioning, your thermostat, to no lower than 78, and that should apply even through the summer months.”