It can store enough energy in batteries to power their refrigerator and other appliances for up to six hours if there is a blackout. Jan Vazquez said. The Vazquezes are among millions of Californians facing an uncertain summer, wondering how they will cope with what is expected to be several months of rolling blackouts. The prospect of daily power outages as the temperature rises and air conditioning use peaks has left many people apprehensive, from parents of newborns who need warm bottles to people who require electric-powered medical devices in their homes to office workers worried about getting stuck in an elevator. California already has endured six days of rolling blackouts this year, each lasting about an hour and hitting different parts of the state.
Estimates vary about what lies ahead.
One industry-sponsored watchdog group, the North American Electric Reliability Council, predicted California would face an average of 20 hours a week of rolling blackouts. Responding to complaints following the earlier outages, state power officials this month plan to begin issuing weather advisory-style warnings 24 hours before an expected blackout. Chicago, faced with a deteriorated electrical system after years of neglect and severe weather, adopted a blackout plan in 1999 that is being studied as a model by California officials. The stakes are high in California. It has the world's sixth largest economy and is home to bellwether high tech companies such as Intel and Cisco Systems.