Court may halt conservation measure

Californians hoping to make it through the summer without blackouts suffered a blow yesterday as a Court ruled against a key conservation measure in San Diego:

The California Public Utilities Commission judge reviewing so-called critical peak pricing plans from San Diego Gas & Electric and two other large utilities concluded there was insufficient time to implement the programs this summer.

The judge, Michelle Cooke, instead suggests considering similar plans for next year or 2007 as part of a comprehensive rate redesign.

At the earlier urging of the commission, SDG&E had presented a proposal to triple rates for the largest consumers of power during peak demand periods, bringing rates to twice the highest seen, including during the state's power crisis of 2000 and 2001. These large consumers have advanced meters that allow for time-sensitive rates.

By discouraging power use during the critical periods, SDG&E concluded that the region's peak power demand would be reduced by about 28 megawatts. The region's all-time record usage was reached last summer at slightly more than 4,000 megawatts.