(Bloomberg) -- Millions of Californians might face blackouts this summer unless energy providers take steps including removing natural gas from the Sempra Energy storage site, which was closed after a historic leak.
Without tapping the site, power plants may not have enough access to natural gas on as many as 14 days to produce electricity in Southern California during certain peak-use times, according to a draft report issued Tuesday by agencies including the California Energy Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Independent System Operator and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Fifteen billion cubic feet of gas is stored at Sempra’s Aliso Canyon field near Los Angeles.
Other recommended measures to limit energy shortages include encouraging customers to conserve use during the hottest summer days. The agencies will take public comment before completing the actions, which were spurred by Governor Jerry Brown’s executive order in January, said Robert Weisenmiller, chairman of the energy commission, in a conference call with reporters Tuesday.
|Site’s role
“Aliso Canyon plays an essential role in maintaining both natural gas and electric reliability in the greater Los Angeles area,” said Mark Rothleder, vice president of the California Independent System Operator, during the call. “The facility’s limited current operations create a distinct possibility of electric service interruptions in the coming summer months.”
The Aliso Canyon leak, which lasted almost four months, sickened residents and spewed the equivalent of a year’s worth of greenhouse-gas emissions from more than 500,000 cars. The leak was plugged in February.
In response, state agencies called for a stop to more storage at the site until a safety review of its wells is completed, limiting the use of one of the largest reservoirs in the country.
State officials said in a statement that its plan to address shortfalls, which include 18 measures, “will reduce, but not eliminate, the risk of gas shortages this summer that are large enough to cause electricity interruptions.
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