Blackouts Hit California As Power Crisis Deepens
By James Jelter
Monday March 19 6:18 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California's deepening energy crisis struck
the length of the state on Monday for the first time as officials ordered
a series of rolling blackouts that doused lights from San Francisco in
Northern California to the boutiques of Beverly Hills.
The fresh wave of outages, called on the last day of winter, knocked
out power to an estimated a million homes and businesses at a time, raising
new concerns about how the state can possibly get through the long, hot
summer without economically crippling disruptions.
It was the third time since January that blackouts were ordered and
the first time that Southern California was included in the order. Officials
warned that the outages would likely last until about 8 p.m. PST (11 p.m.
EST, 0400 GMT Tuesday), by far the longest duration seen in the state so
far.
The blackout disrupted the lunch hour in fashionable Beverly Hills,
where chefs at ``Debbie's on Wilshire'' were forced to read food orders
in the dark as credit card machines and electronic cash registers crashed,
air conditioning ceased and irritated customers fled, even after the owner
offered to serve their patrons on the honor system.
``I don't know why they would pick this area during the lunch hour,''
said angry restaurant owner Wayne Wald, adding that he lost 70 percent
of his business due to the blackout.
Next door, the fuming proprietor of Giti International Oriental Rugs
complained that the outage ruined his appointment with an out-of-state
couple who came to look at an $85,000 carpet. ``They should have been able
to look at every color, every style,'' said Solomon Afraim.
``They said they were going to do some other things and come back. I
hope they will. ... We left Iran because of this kind of thing.''
In San Francisco the power outages hit businesses in Ghiradelli Square,
a popular tourist area near Fisherman's Wharf.
But Bill Miller, owner of Boudin Sourdough Bakery & Cafe, said he
was now baking bread by hand. ``We are doing everything manual now, which
is the old methods,'' Miller said. ``Luckily I was trained that way in
the old days.''
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