As the year’s toughest heat wave is ready to hit the Southland this weekend, power plants in Long Beach, Wilmington and Sun City were granted exemptions starting Thursday to temporarily burn potentially dirtier diesel fuel to prevent summer blackouts for Los Angeles Department of Water and Power customers.
Regional air quality regulators granted the three power plants a 90-day temporary exemption lasting until Sept. 13 that gives the utility the option to use diesel as a back-up to natural gas, which is in short supply due to the recent leak at the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility.
“In the event of any potential blackouts this summer, the operation of LADWP’s units on diesel fuel will ensure a continuous supply of electricity to protect the health and safety of Los Angeles residents and businesses,” said Wayne Nastri, acting executive officer of the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
Nastri said allowing granting the exemption will be cleaner on balance than relying on “significantly dirtier diesel back-up generators at many hospitals, police stations and businesses.”
SCAQMD officials say these generators tend to lack controls that would lessen the air pollution effects.
In exchange for the exemption, LADWP will need to come up with a plan to mitigate the effects of burning diesel at its plants, and will pay $1.5 million, plus $100,000 per day that diesel fuel is used, to go toward air filters and electric buses for schools near the power stations. The total amount of the fees would be capped at $2.9 million.
The power plants also must follow guidelines limiting how long diesel can be used.
The utility will also need to hold public meetings to receive input from residents and other community members who are affected by the three power plants, which are the Haynes Generating Station in Long Beach, the Harbor Generating Station in Wilmington and the Valley Generating Station in Sun City.
LADWP owns four power plants, but Scattergood Generating Station in Playa de Rey runs only on natural gas and is not equipped to burn diesel.
LADWP also gets its electricity from 13 other outside power plants, which all are solely natural gas, according to SCAQMD officials.
The state’s energy and public utility commissions and other agencies, including LADWP, issued a report in April saying that the Southland could face up to 14 days of rolling blackouts this summer due to the reduced supply of natural gas in the Aliso Canyon facility, which stores supplies to meet demands during peak electricity days.
— Wire reports