Mohave fire could foretell summer woes

Thursday, March 29, 2001 | 11:20 a.m.

An electrical fire at the Mohave Generating Station that knocked out half the generating supply at the plant would be a much bigger problem if it happened this summer, Nevada Power Co. officials said Wednesday.

Although the incident Wednesday had no immediate effect on Nevada's power situation, it was exactly the type of accident that company officials fear could affect power supplies in the summer, when residents here crank up their air-conditioners.

The loss of one unit at the Mohave plant, 90 miles south of Las Vegas, pushed California into a "stage two electrical emergency."

A stage three emergency would mean rolling blackouts could be possible throughout the Golden State.

The electrical fire shortly after 11 a.m. did not cause any injuries, said Don Hendren, a spokesman for majority owner Southern California Edison. He said the electrical fire caused a lot of smoke but did not appear to severely damage the plant in Laughlin.

The Mohave plant has a commitment to provide 196 megawatts to Southern Nevada during the summer, about enough power for 100,000 homes during the hot months. Nevada Power officials said every contract source for power could be critical during that time period.

"Any time there's any drain on our supplies it's serious," Thomas Moore, Nevada Power spokesman, said. "We're counting on all the power we can get."

Company officials have said they believe adequate supplies exist to get the area through the summer. They also have cautioned that accidents that affect generating plants or transmission lines could lead to California-style blackouts here.

The prospect has government officials alarmed, since 115-degree temperatures without working air-conditioners could be a public health threat. Clark County agencies are meeting next month to plan a response to a worst-case scenario.

Moore said a similar accident at the Mohave plant or other generating station wouldn't necessarily mean blackouts for Las Vegas, but would make company officials nervous.

A similar accident coupled with other problems might cause a blackout, he said.

"It would have to be a series of events," Moore said.

Engineers worked through Wednesday to identify the source of the fire and the extent of the damage, Hendren said.

The fire knocked out unit one, which provides half of the plant's 1,580 megawatts. The second unit was not affected.

Lorie O'Donley, spokeswoman for the California Independent System Operator, said the loss of 790 megawatts at the plant -- enough to power about 700,000 homes -- was the "determining factor" in going to a stage two emergency.

"Supplies are tight throughout the West," O'Donley said. "With the current situation, each unit is important."

The loss of generating capacity Wednesday was in addition to 10,820 megawatts worth of power in plants already off-line because of preventative repairs and plant malfunctions.

This is the second time in two weeks that a loss of power from the Mohave plant has led to problems for California energy consumers. The Independent System Operator declared a stage three alert and instituted rolling blackouts after an electrical problem at the plant March 19.

In that incident a relay tripped, for two days knocking out all 1,580 megawatts the plant can provide at peak production. Blackouts swept the state March 19 and 20.

The Independent System Operator manages the flow of electricity along the long-distance, high-voltage power lines that comprise the bulk of California's transmission system.

Hendren said Thursday plant operators don't know what caused this week's electrical fire or the tripped-relay nine days earlier.

Engineers were working carefully to avoid any potential safety hazards to investigate the cause of the fire, he said. Without knowing the cause the operators don't know how long it will take to get unit one back on-line, he said.

Hendren said the fire did not appear to be related to the earlier tripped relay.

Four companies own a slice of the 30-year-old plant: Southern California Edison owns 56 percent, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power owns 20 percent, Nevada Power owns 14 percent and the Phoenix Salt River Project owns 10 percent.