California Governor Mr Gray Davis, facing a spiraling power crisis that shows no sign of easing, declared a state of emergency last night and set out a game plan to keep the lights on - at least for today.
"The state of emergency gives the state the authority and the resources to keep the lights on in California," the Democratic governor said as he signed the official emergency declaration.
Mr Davis said he was directing the legislature to pass emergency measures today to appropriate the general funds necessary to keep the electricity flowing for another week to ten days. He also said he was instructing the state's Department of Water Resources to use funds already budgeted to it to buy additional power.
With its utilities close to bankruptcy and power grid in chaos, thanks to a combination of supply problems and the aftermath of a 1996 state power deregulation law, California's power regulators yesterday for the first time ordered large-scale rolling blackouts -unplugging some 200,000 customers for up to two hours.
Mr Davis said the threat of more blackouts today left him no choice but to issue the emergency directive. "I'm disappointed that we have no choice (but) to step in, and we will do it," Mr Davis said.
Reuters