Generator companies report brisk sales. Bay Area businesses have as many as 10,000 generators, according to Teresa Lee, spokeswoman for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. In fact, there are so many diesel generators operating, spewing out toxic particulates into the air, that the Air Quality Management District is clamping down. Businesses are only supposed to run their generators for 200 hours a year although no one, Lee says, is checking. Company executives say the chaos has become critical.
Companies are reluctant to discuss their power problems for fear of spooking shareholders.
Fixing all the problems that stemmed from the blackout cost even more, said Steve Lane, SDL senior facilities engineer. Intel officials, including Chief Executive Craig Barrett, have said in recent days that Intel won't expand its manufacturing sites in California or build new ones here because the power supply is unstable. However, Intel has not been planning to build here and hasn't built here since 1988. Guardino calls Barrett's comments an understatement.