FIRSTENERGY CORP. Conserving power avoids rolling blackouts

Companies and residents cut back on power use.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- FirstEnergy Corp. avoided rolling blackouts Wednesday after asking its electric customers across northern Ohio to conserve power earlier in the day.
The company placed blame for the rolling blackout risk on high energy use in hot weather and reduced power-generating capacity since the blackout last week.
Nonessential power at all FirstEnergy facilities was reduced. The company said it was ready to notify industrial and commercial customers on interruptible contracts to start emergency interruption procedures to trim power demand.
Electricity users were advised to use fans instead of air conditioners, lower the thermostat setting for electric water heaters and not use appliances such as electric dryers and ranges.
If rolling blackouts are necessary, they most likely would occur in the Cleveland area for two-hour periods, the company said.
Major blackout
Experts have said last Thursday's blackout appears to have started on the Northeast Ohio power grid owned by Akron-based FirstEnergy, the nation's fourth-largest investor-owned utility with 4.3 million customers in Ohio, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
The outage darkened homes and businesses in eight states and parts of Canada. The blackout affected 50 million people, shut down more than 100 power plants and knocked Cleveland's water supply off line.
The company notified cities in the Cleveland area that two-hour rolling blackouts may be necessary, FirstEnergy spokesman Ralph DiNicola said in a written statement.
The National Weather Service in Cleveland said the high in Cleveland was 86 degrees Wednesday.
FirstEnergy's Perry nuclear power plant, which shut down last week when it lost electric power, was expected to resume producing electricity today, spokesman Todd Schneider said. The reactor at the plant, which represents 7 percent to 8 percent of FirstEnergy's generating capacity, was restarted Wednesday.
The company's Davis-Besse plant east of Toledo has been down for repairs since last year.
The city of Cleveland endorsed the call for conservation and said it would activate turbines of the city-owned Cleveland Public Power if needed by FirstEnergy.
Imposed rolling blackouts
FirstEnergy, the focus of intense investigations into the cause of last week's blackouts, imposed rolling blackouts in the Cleveland area Friday as power demand exceeded available electricity as power was restored.
Rolling blackouts allow a utility to spread out the impact of power shortages in successive neighborhoods while avoiding longer blackouts in any one area.