Repeated interruptions in Pomona College’s power supply over the past few weeks have spurred the administration to invest in two new generators to power the campus and to look into long-term energy conservation possibilities. The power interruptions, which began late last semester, have been caused by a combination of California’s recent energy crisis and Pomona’s interruptible power agreement with Southern California Edison.

In the past few months California has been experiencing a severe shortage in power, the result of a botched deregulation plan and blocked construction of new power plants. Since mid-January, the state has been subject to rolling blackouts.

Pomona’s power situation has been worsened by an agreement made with Southern California Edison in 1987. Pomona signed a contract that allows its power supply to be terminated when state energy reserves are low in exchange for decreased energy rates.

"The college has saved substantially since it joined the interruptible rate program. The savings last year (fiscal year 1999-2000) amounted to $340,000, and the Claremont Colleges collectively saved about $1.1 million last year," Pomona College Treasurer Carlene Miller said.

While interruptions over the past thirteen years have been minimal, the recent energy crisis spurred an onslaught of interrupted power. Outages late last semester were avoided when the college paid 100 times the usual costs to keep the campus powered.

"Last semester, Pomona spent $185,000 (about $15,000 an hour) to keep power for 11 hours during times we were expected under our agreement with the Southern California Edison, to go dark," Dean of Students Ann Quinley wrote in a letter to the student body on January 17.

Such expenditures are "not an option for the long run," President Peter Stanley said in an early semester email to the students. Because electrical problems could continue for the next two years, other solutions had to be investigated.

Recently Pomona invested in two large megawatt (MW) generators, to power the campus in the event of interruptions. The college already has several temporary generators parked outside of academic buildings, but these smaller generators only produce enough energy to fuel part of the campus’ electricity needs.

"The ultimate goal is to shortly install two new, 2 MW generators and eliminate the individual ones," noted Director of Campus Planning and Maintenance Jim Hansen. These permanent, diesel-fueled generators will be located adjacent to the Claremont Colleges’ Electrical Substation at the corner of Sixth and Mills. They will produce enough energy to power virtually all of the school’s electricity needs.

On Friday, January 26, however, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a decision waiving the penalties charged to interruptible power customers who choose to maintain power. According to Miller, "No penalties have been paid to date, and given the CPUC’s decision, we would hope not to have to pay any penalties this year. The CPUC has directed Southern California Edison not to bill customers for penalties incurred since October 1, and we did not incur any penalties prior to [that date]."

Despite the CPUC’s decision, the college has decided to proceed with their generator plans. Quinley noted that the generators would be beneficial in the event of rolling blackouts, which would still affect the colleges, or situations such as earthquakes: "We feel that they would be important in emergencies," she stated.

The generators burn $300 worth of diesel per hour, and thus cannot be sustained as energy sources for any great length of time. Each generator is sound attenuated, and will produce a sound of 70 decibels at 50 feet from the unit, a level that is within the Environmental Protection Agency guidelines. Whether this noise will disturb students likely depends on their location, as some students currently find noise from the older generators disturbing. The Claremont University Consortium is working on installing three similar units, so that all campuses will be self-sufficient in the event of a blackout.

Pomona has also recently entered into a new alliance of colleges and universities in Southern California, whose purpose, according to Miller, is "to make the CPUC and others in key energy-related positions aware of the colleges’ and universities’ energy needs, energy conservation activities, and opinions on any variations of the interruptible rate program that might be introduced in the future."

"Since this Alliance was just formed within the last few weeks and had not taken any substantive steps before last Friday, it is unlikely that it had any influence on the CPUC’s decision," miller stated when asked about the alliance’s influence on the CPUC. "Rather, as stated in its announcement document, the CPUC likely acted in response to threats to the state’s economy and public safety caused by shortages of gasoline, diesel fuel, and jet fuel resulting from the electricity shortage."

"No funds have been expended on any lobbying effort, and no legal action is envisioned," she added.

With regard to long-term consequences of energy use, the college is creating a formal energy conservation plan to alter Pomona’s consumption pattern. The plan will be created by President Stanley’s office, with the help of the Deans and other administration. Energy conservation can take many forms, including simple activities like shutting off lights when not in use, or lowering the heating in a building, and the college has already taken steps to institute such changes. However, infrastructural methods, such as solar panels, may also be considered to reduce our energy consumption.

Another possibility in an overall plan of conservation would be to construct sustainable buildings, that do not need heating or air-conditioning and rely on alternative, renewable energy. Pitzer College is discussing plans for a new environmental, sustainable dorm, and Pomona has hired outside consultants to inform the college of feasible options.

But the current efforts will be primarily small and diffuse. Quinley noted that the college wanted to explore all options before investing a lot of money. According to President Stanley recently wrote, "A really effective conservation program requires everyone’s participation…it cannot just be a top-down effort." The administration is looking for student input and direction for Pomona College’s long-term energy conservation plans.