California: Rolling Blackouts Likely By ‘09

A plan to discourage new power plants in Southern California’s most polluted communities could lead to rolling blackouts in Riverside, city officials said.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District plans could curtail city plans to build two “peaker” plants that could be used during critical times like summer heat waves when electricity consumption exceeds other available sources.


Without the additional power, “we are going to have rolling blackouts in 2009 or 2010,” said David H. Wright, Riverside’s public utilities general manager.

The AQMD is considering new rules that could prohibit such plants in the Riverside-San Bernardino area or force utilities and private power developers to pay more to build new ones in the region, under a pollution credit program.

Press-Enterprise