Rolling blackout is lifted

Today's rolling blackout in Palo Alto lasted from 10:30 a.m. until noon.

But there is "a very high likelihood" of an additional rolling blackout later today or tonight, said Linda Clerkson, public relations manager of the Palo Alto Utilities Department.

The city didn't get a lot of warning, either. "They gave us 30 seconds notice," Clerkson said of the Independent System Operator (ISO), which controls the state's power grid.

"It is incredibly stressful," she added. "A lot of customers would like more notice (of pending blackouts), but unfortunately we don't have it."

This morning's blackout affected Block 12, 18, part of 16, and Block 5. If blackouts resume today, Blocks 19, 15 and then 17 would be next in line.

From 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., the city had to reduce energy use by 8.4 percent, which was twice the reduction during Wednesday's rolling blackout.

But that was reduced to 4.5 percent between 11:30 and noon, when the blackout was lifted. If it resumes later today, the city would have to reduce usage by 4.1 percent, the same as Wednesday.

For further information, check the Utilities Department Web page at www.cpau.com or call (650) 496-6914. There is a place on the Web page to determine which electric grid "block" a street address is in. The page also includes the rotation order of the blocks in the rolling blackouts.

--Don Kazak