SD school officials cancel classes for Friday in power outage aftermath
City News Service
San Diego Unified School officials announced Thursday night about 8:15 p.m. that all schools would be closed on Friday following a massive power outage that originated in Arizona knocked out power to 1.4 million San Diego Gas & Electric customers from Mexico to southern Orange County.
As SDG&E crews worked to phase power back in as quickly as they could, utility executives said and some could be without electricity into Friday.
The drive in and out of La Jolla was nightmarish Thursday with all lanes clogged and drivers trying to remember the rules of the road when signals are out, hesitating as cars on their right and left tried to negotiate intersections.
Police were directing traffic at key intersections like the “Throat” at La Jolla Parkway and Torrey Pines Road, but cars were lined up bumper to bumper down Pearl Street, even as several paramedic units tried to weave their way through drivers who didn’t know quite where to go.
For the latest on the schools situation, parents can go to www.facebook.com/#!/SanDiegoUnified, or Twitter page, www.twitter.com/sdschools.
According to SDGE, the outage originated in Arizona and caused both of its major electrical connections to the region to trip off. In addition to knocking out power to much of San Diego County, the outage also affected people in Mexico, Baja California, the Coachella Valley in Riverside County and southern Orange County.
At the Light’s office on Pearl, once the power went off, reports could be heard over the battery-powered police scanner from lifeguards and patrol cars that power and traffic lights were out. It was soon clear that the outage was widespread and crews quickly kicked into high gear, with the county activating its emergency procedures within a hour.
The California Independent System Operator, which manages the state’s power grid, issued a statement blaming the outage on the failure of a high- voltage power line between Arizona and Southern California, causing an outage for all SDG&E customers and affecting some other utilities.
“The outage was triggered after a 500-kilovolt (kV) high-voltage line from Arizona to California tripped out of service. The transmission outage cut the flow of imported power into the most southern portion of California, resulting in wide-spread outages in the region,” according to Cal ISO.
“The ISO is coordinating with SDG&E as well as neighboring utilities including Southern California (Edison) and utilities in Arizona and Mexico, during restoration of service, which is being managed by SDG&E.”
By dark, Councilwoman Sherri Lightner’s office posted a Facebook notice that District 1 residents should conserve water, and Facebook was alive with comments and photos about a night sky filled with stars that is a rarity in San Diego.
SDGE had no estimate on when power would be restored, but said some of
its customers likely would not have electricity until tomorrow.The outage caused a virtual shutdown at Lindbergh Field, where only a handful of Southwest Airlines flights were being permitted to take off, and only because they were carrying only pass-through passengers, according to airport spokeswoman Rebecca Bloomfield.
Other than those flights, there had been no other outbound planes from the airport since the power went out since passengers could not be properly screened. Most inbound flights were being either canceled or diverted to other airports, she said.
San Diego State University canceled classes Thursday night due to the outage. University officials said it was still unclear if classes would resume on Friday, and updates would be posted on its website.
The power went out around 3:30 p.m. at the courthouse in downtown San Diego, which was closed a short time later.
San Diego police Officer David Stafford said “We don’t have any major incidents,” he said, noting that officers were working at major intersections to provide traffic control.
Councilwoman Sherri Lightner’s office posted a Facebook notice that District 1 residents should conserve water, and Facebook was alive with comments and photos about a night sky filled with stars that is a rarity in San Diego.
Kathy Day contributed to this report.
Related posts:
- La Jolla traffic board to take on Torrey Pines Road on Thursday
- Speeders take note: La Jolla’s West Muirlands residents want changes
- A sign for the seniors
- Collision accents safety issues on Torrey Pines Road
- Torrey Pines Corridor meeting set for Sept. 3
Short URL: http://www.lajollalight.com/?p=50062
Thursday, September 8, 2011
SD school officials cancel classes for Friday in power outage aftermath | La Jolla Light | La Jolla Light
Posted by 
Power returning after massive Southwest outage - Houston Chronicle
SAN DIEGO — Power is slowly coming back online for some people in California, but most of the 2 million who lost electricity across the Southwest will remain in the dark through the night.
Mike Niggli, chief operating officer of San Diego Gas & Electric Co. says they are starting to restore power to the system. Parts of Orange County are back online.
The outage extended from southern parts of Orange County to San Diego to Yuma, Arizona. It also affected cities south of the border across much of the state of northern Baja.
Niggli urged people to be patient and asked those who have power to use only the most necessary appliances and turn off their air conditioners to prevent another shutdown.
News Release: Cause of Widespread Outage Under InvestigationAPS Works to Restore Service to Customers in Yuma Area, 09/08/2011
Cause of Widespread Outage Under Investigation
APS Works to Restore Service to Customers in Yuma AreaSeptember 8, 2011
PHOENIX – At approximately 3:30 pm today, the North Gila – Hassayampa 500 kV transmission line near Yuma, Ariz., tripped off line resulting in a major power outage across southwest Arizona and into Southern California. Among APS customers, approximately 56,000 lost service throughout Yuma, Somerton, San Luis and Gadsden. APS is in the process of restoring service to customers in these communities.
The outage appears to be related to a procedure an APS employee was carrying out in the North Gila substation, which is located northeast of Yuma. Operating and protection protocols typically would have isolated the resulting outage to the Yuma area. The reason that did not occur in this case will be the focal point of the investigation into the event, which already is under way.
“We are working hard to restore our customers as quickly and safely as possible,” said APS President and Chief Operating Officer Don Robinson. “We take great pride in our hard-earned reputation for safe and reliable service, and we will work hard to identify the cause.”
APS is Arizona’s largest and longest serving electric utility and serves more than 1.1 million customers in 11 of the state’s 15 counties. With headquarters in Phoenix, APS is the principal subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corp. (NYSE: PNW)
Contact:Damon Gross
(602) 250-2269Jim McDonald
(602) 321-3738 (cell)24-hour Hotline
(602) 250-2277Analyst Contacts:
Rebecca Hickman
(602) 250-5668Geoff Wendt
Return to News Releases Index
(602) 250-5643
The Associated Press: Power out for millions in US Mexico
Power out for millions in US MexicoBy JULIE WATSON, Associated Press – 1 hour ago
SAN DIEGO (AP) — More than 2 million people on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border were left without power Thursday after a major outage that extended from Arizona to southern California, including San Diego, the eighth largest U.S. city.
Mike Niggli, chief operating officer of San Diego Gas & Electric Co. ruled out terrorism but said the cause is unclear.
"To my knowledge this is the first time we've lost an entire system," he said at a news conference.
The outage that started shortly before 4 p.m. PDT extended from southern parts of Orange County to San Diego to Yuma, Arizona. It also is affecting cities south of the border across much of the state of northern Baja.
All outgoing flights from San Diego's Lindbergh Field were grounded and police stations were using generators to accept emergency calls across San Diego County.
Charles Coleman, a spokesman from Southern California Edison, said the two reactors at the San Onofre nuclear power plant went offline at 3:38 p.m. as they are programmed to do when there is a disturbance in the power grid, but there was no danger to the public or to workers there.
Residents in parts of eastern San Diego County and Yuma, Ariz. endured sweltering temperatures with no air conditioning.
"It's 113 degrees right now outside and 75 in my office," said Yuma city spokesman Greg Hyland, who was sitting in the dark, answering calls.
Niggli said relief was on its way, slowly. He said his 1.4 million customers may be without power until Friday.
He said the utility lost power due to a transmission failure that started at a large switching station in Arizona, where several high-voltage lines come together, although the cause has not been determined.
"I suspect the system was overwhelmed by too many outages in too many places," Niggli said.
In the desert heat of the Palm Springs area, the temperature was 111 on Thursday, with the rolling blackouts. The Eisenhower Medical Center will serve as an oasis of air conditioning since it operates on its own power source, said hospital spokeswoman Deborah Johnson.
Johnson welcomed fragile seniors and others affected by the heat to cool off in their lobby.
Five hundred to 2,000 SoCal Edison customers in southern Orange County and Riverside County are currently without power and there is no estimate for when power will be restored, Coleman said.
In southern Orange County, the sheriff's department dispatched deputies to busy intersections because traffic lights were out, said John McDonald, a sheriff's spokesman. Outages were confirmed in San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Laguna Hills, he said.
Elliot Spagat in San Diego; Gillian Flaccus in Orange County; and Walter Berry in Phoenix.
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
