7. Notice Before Rotating Outages

Several approaches are available to assist business customers reduce or eliminate danger or jeopardy to public health and safety when exposed to a rotating outage. Category M is one method. Another is advance notification.

The California Independent System Operator (ISO) now provides forecasts both 48 hours, and 24 hours, in advance of expected rotating outages. The ISO provides frequent updates to the public during periods of forecast electricity emergencies. Executive Order D-38-01 requires the ISO to notify utilities and public agencies one hour in advance of any firm load curtailment. Each utility is in turn required to notify the public and the media no less than one hour in advance of any reduction in electricity output, including the time and location where the anticipated blackout will occur.

Individual customers may also receive energy alerts regarding Stage 1, 2 and 3 emergencies. Customers may register on the State of California home page ( http://my.ca.gov/wireless) to receive wireless notifications of energy alerts via pager, cell phone, or hand-held personal digital assistant. (Governor's Press Release, PRO1: 323 dated July 10, 2001.) As experience is gained with this system, and improvements are made, if necessary, this advance notification is, and will become, a powerful tool to reduce and manage risk to public health and safety from outages.

Because we are unable to provide Category M status to all applicants, we are pleased that other tools are available to mitigate or eliminate danger to public health and safety. We encourage all applicants denied Category M status to take advantage of the new real-time electronic system for advance notification.