EE_
5th April 2016, 07:40 PM
Keep you generators gassed up this summer.
Southern California braces for summer blackouts due to Porter Ranch gas leak
Gas leak in Porter Ranch is displacing residents
Alice Walton
State officials warned Tuesday that Southern California could experience as many as 14 days of blackouts this summer due to the massive methane leak in Aliso Canyon.
The Aliso Canyon storage facility in the hills above Porter Ranch is at one-fifth of its capacity because of a well leak that began in October. Officials said it could potentially take months to bring it back online, and in the meantime, local power plants will be without a key source of natural gas.
Aliso Canyon supplies natural gas to 17 power plants in the Los Angeles basin, including four operated by the Department of Water and Power. A drop in supply would affect the DWP's ability to get electricity from its natural gas-powered plants, officials said.
"These pipelines also cannot transport gas fast enough to meet the hour-by-hour or changing demands of power plants during the summer when electricity demand peaks," said Mark Rothleder, vice president of the California Independent System Operator.
Millions of customers could be affected in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties. It marks the biggest threat to the local power supply since the energy crisis of more than a decade ago, which led to so-called "rolling blackouts."
Robert Weisenmiller, chair of the state Energy Commission, said officials this summer would anticipate scheduled outages for some users as opposed to rolling blackouts that affect large swaths of the region.
A draft report from four key energy agencies -- the California Energy Commission, the California Independent System Operator, the California Public Utilities Commission and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power -- estimates the region could have power outages on as many as 14 days this summer. Outages could occur on an additional eight to 18 days later in the year.
“The action plan recognizes the crucial role Aliso Canyon plays in providing reliable energy service to Southern California, and we appreciate that the agencies responsible for developing the plan understand that steps need to be taken to deal with our inability to rely on Aliso in the near term,” said Chris Gilbride of the Southern California Gas Co.
Aliso Canyon has 15-billion cubic feet of natural gas in its underground reservoirs. Because of the leak, Southern California Gas Co. is prohibited from injecting gas into the reservoir until a safety check is completed on the facility's 114 wells. Aliso Canyon typically provides gas to 11 million people in the region.
The four energy agencies released a plan Tuesday with 18 recommendations that could reduce the possibility of blackouts.
“We cannot say this is risk-free. We can certainly take measures to reduce that risk,” Weisenmiller said.
Among the 18 recommendations to reduce the risk of blackouts, the DWP will curtail the stockpiling of gas and sales of wholesale electricity. In times of peak demand, the utility may turn to hydroelectric power, which is more expensive than power from gas-fueled electricity plants.
See the most-read stories this hour >>
Customers will be asked to conserve gas and energy by turning down the temperature on their water heaters and taking shorter showers, using air conditioners sparingly and shutting off gas-powered barbecues.
“Saving electricity is really one of the best ways to save gas,” said DWP General Manager Marcie Edwards.
In coming weeks, the city of Los Angeles will announce rebates and other programs to encourage commercial and residential customers to save energy, Mayor Eric Garcetti said.
“We can all help get through this tough period by conserving energy, making our buildings more efficient, and taking other actions that reduce our use of electricity and natural gas,” he said in a statement.
The four agencies will host a public workshop on the draft plan on Friday in Woodland Hills.
Regulatory approval will be needed for some of the recommendations. Others will be costly fixes. The Public Utilities Commission is tracking those additional costs, said commission President Michael Picker. Utilities will not be able to pass on those costs to customers without the PUC’s approval of a rate increase.
A representative from the gas company was not immediately available to comment.
The announcement comes amid debate about the future of the Aliso Canyon facility. In the wake of the massive leak, which forced residents to flee their homes for months, some local officials and community groups want the entire operations to shut down permanently.
The threat of summertime blackouts should not be used to rush inspections of the wells at Aliso Canyon, a resident said.
"No one wants blackouts -- not even the folks living in Porter Ranch -- but the Aliso Canyon storage facility is not fit to operate until those wells are deemed safe," said Paula Cracium, president of the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council. "There is no way to know whether or not there is another leak like just waiting to devastate the community again until the inspections are completed."
Since January, Southern California Gas has begun inspecting all 114 remaining active wells in the gas storage field, using preliminary noise and temperature checks to screen wells for further tests or temporary capping.
The results show the company has focused first on the highest volume wells it will need to rely on if it is to resume operations.
Older wells more likely to be found with leaks have not yet been tested.
Procedures that state oil and gas regulators developed in private will allow the gas company to resume operations with a core number of wells that pass all tests, while the rest are "isolated" until they can either be repaired or plugged.
As of last week, the gas company said it had taken 24 wells out of operation, most of those without any test reported to the state.
State-reviewed tests have begun on 49 other wells.
The utility has used the argument of "energy reliability" to lobby aggressively behind the scenes to convince regulators that it should be allowed to resume operations in Aliso Canyon.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-aliso-canyon-blackouts-20160405-story.html
Southern California braces for summer blackouts due to Porter Ranch gas leak
Gas leak in Porter Ranch is displacing residents
Alice Walton
State officials warned Tuesday that Southern California could experience as many as 14 days of blackouts this summer due to the massive methane leak in Aliso Canyon.
The Aliso Canyon storage facility in the hills above Porter Ranch is at one-fifth of its capacity because of a well leak that began in October. Officials said it could potentially take months to bring it back online, and in the meantime, local power plants will be without a key source of natural gas.
Aliso Canyon supplies natural gas to 17 power plants in the Los Angeles basin, including four operated by the Department of Water and Power. A drop in supply would affect the DWP's ability to get electricity from its natural gas-powered plants, officials said.
"These pipelines also cannot transport gas fast enough to meet the hour-by-hour or changing demands of power plants during the summer when electricity demand peaks," said Mark Rothleder, vice president of the California Independent System Operator.
Millions of customers could be affected in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties. It marks the biggest threat to the local power supply since the energy crisis of more than a decade ago, which led to so-called "rolling blackouts."
Robert Weisenmiller, chair of the state Energy Commission, said officials this summer would anticipate scheduled outages for some users as opposed to rolling blackouts that affect large swaths of the region.
A draft report from four key energy agencies -- the California Energy Commission, the California Independent System Operator, the California Public Utilities Commission and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power -- estimates the region could have power outages on as many as 14 days this summer. Outages could occur on an additional eight to 18 days later in the year.
“The action plan recognizes the crucial role Aliso Canyon plays in providing reliable energy service to Southern California, and we appreciate that the agencies responsible for developing the plan understand that steps need to be taken to deal with our inability to rely on Aliso in the near term,” said Chris Gilbride of the Southern California Gas Co.
Aliso Canyon has 15-billion cubic feet of natural gas in its underground reservoirs. Because of the leak, Southern California Gas Co. is prohibited from injecting gas into the reservoir until a safety check is completed on the facility's 114 wells. Aliso Canyon typically provides gas to 11 million people in the region.
The four energy agencies released a plan Tuesday with 18 recommendations that could reduce the possibility of blackouts.
“We cannot say this is risk-free. We can certainly take measures to reduce that risk,” Weisenmiller said.
Among the 18 recommendations to reduce the risk of blackouts, the DWP will curtail the stockpiling of gas and sales of wholesale electricity. In times of peak demand, the utility may turn to hydroelectric power, which is more expensive than power from gas-fueled electricity plants.
See the most-read stories this hour >>
Customers will be asked to conserve gas and energy by turning down the temperature on their water heaters and taking shorter showers, using air conditioners sparingly and shutting off gas-powered barbecues.
“Saving electricity is really one of the best ways to save gas,” said DWP General Manager Marcie Edwards.
In coming weeks, the city of Los Angeles will announce rebates and other programs to encourage commercial and residential customers to save energy, Mayor Eric Garcetti said.
“We can all help get through this tough period by conserving energy, making our buildings more efficient, and taking other actions that reduce our use of electricity and natural gas,” he said in a statement.
The four agencies will host a public workshop on the draft plan on Friday in Woodland Hills.
Regulatory approval will be needed for some of the recommendations. Others will be costly fixes. The Public Utilities Commission is tracking those additional costs, said commission President Michael Picker. Utilities will not be able to pass on those costs to customers without the PUC’s approval of a rate increase.
A representative from the gas company was not immediately available to comment.
The announcement comes amid debate about the future of the Aliso Canyon facility. In the wake of the massive leak, which forced residents to flee their homes for months, some local officials and community groups want the entire operations to shut down permanently.
The threat of summertime blackouts should not be used to rush inspections of the wells at Aliso Canyon, a resident said.
"No one wants blackouts -- not even the folks living in Porter Ranch -- but the Aliso Canyon storage facility is not fit to operate until those wells are deemed safe," said Paula Cracium, president of the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council. "There is no way to know whether or not there is another leak like just waiting to devastate the community again until the inspections are completed."
Since January, Southern California Gas has begun inspecting all 114 remaining active wells in the gas storage field, using preliminary noise and temperature checks to screen wells for further tests or temporary capping.
The results show the company has focused first on the highest volume wells it will need to rely on if it is to resume operations.
Older wells more likely to be found with leaks have not yet been tested.
Procedures that state oil and gas regulators developed in private will allow the gas company to resume operations with a core number of wells that pass all tests, while the rest are "isolated" until they can either be repaired or plugged.
As of last week, the gas company said it had taken 24 wells out of operation, most of those without any test reported to the state.
State-reviewed tests have begun on 49 other wells.
The utility has used the argument of "energy reliability" to lobby aggressively behind the scenes to convince regulators that it should be allowed to resume operations in Aliso Canyon.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-aliso-canyon-blackouts-20160405-story.html