Large customers being asked to conserve power

LAS VEGAS - Big electricity customers were asked to cut their consumption Wednesday when Nevada Power Co. declared a ''code yellow'' alert for the second consecutive day.

Despite the low-level warning, utility officials do not expect any local power outages this summer.

''We're not there. We haven't been there. We haven't been close to that,'' said Steve Rigazio, president of the electric utility.

The utility asked casinos and other major building owners to curtail electric consumption and to turn on their backup generation units to increase power supplies.

All four Station Casinos' properties have started conservation programs, including turning off unnecessary lights and adjusting air conditioner thermostats.

Five properties operated by MGM Mirage also have taken conservation measures.

''We're on standby to do whatever they need us to do, but we do not need to go back to our backup power,'' spokeswoman Jenn Michaels said.

A member of the Public Utilities Commission responded to concerns about summertime power outages by calling for an investigation of electric power reliability at the state's two largest electric companies: Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power Co. of Reno.

This week's yellow alerts were the first that Rigazio could recall since August 1996. That's when several Western states were hit by an outage after transmission lines touched trees in northern Oregon and caused a 500-kilovolt line to short out.

The company did not publicly announce Tuesday's yellow alert. The alerts were triggered by power plant outages in California and Southern Nevada.

While Wednesday's high temperature of 105 degrees cooked Las Vegas, the heat was not unusual.

''For this time of year, it's very normal,'' said Charlie Schlott, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. ''We stay this way probably through mid-August.''

Nevada Power usually records peak demand for electricity around the Fourth of July, Rigazio said.

''The (power) markets are very tight and very expensive,'' he said. ''This is a West Coast phenomena. It's not just a Nevada problem.''