Rising electricity prices that are smacking companies across Southern California have Orange County technology companies adhering to the age-old energy-saving adage: turn the lights off behind you.
Drawing ire from the business community, California’s Public Utility Commission approved a 40% hike in electricity rates,about 3 cents per kilowatt hour,forcing technology companies, some of the region’s biggest power consumers, to further trim power use.
“It’s outrageous,” Heather Jardim, spokeswoman for Fountain Valley-based Kingston Technology Co., said of the rate hike. “But not having power to our plant could be disastrous.”
Energy-saving programs run the gamut from turning off lights to shutting down factories, something other OC companies also are doing to save power.
In some cases, the answer is simple: shut off overhead lights where no one is working.
“As of now, we have a basic plan to conserve energy by reducing use of lights where and when unnecessary, for example after hours, in unused rooms,” said Broadcom spokeswoman Eileen Algaze.
Rancho Santa Margarita-based Viking Components Inc. says it has cut its daily power consumption 18%. Part of that was turning off all unnecessary lighting in the building.
“The 50 lights turned off were not directly over the production area, and therefore deemed unnecessary,” said Viking spokeswoman Christina Karpowitz.
Viking also dimmed lights in all of its halls, relying on natural lighting as much as possible.
“In our cafeteria seating area for example, all lights have been turned completely off because of the large windows that provide sufficient light,” Karpowitz said.
With a hot summer forecast, the energy officials fear demand for electricity to run large air conditioning units could overload power grids, increasing the likelihood of rolling blackouts similar to the ones experienced in recent weeks. For OC tech companies, such a blackout could seriously mire production.
To curb that threat, Kingston installed a generator and plans to add a second one in the next month. Two seconds after a blackout the generators spring to life and helps Kingston keep production up. Still, the generators don’t power the servers that run office computers and other equipment, so employees are encouraged to save important information in case the power dies, Kingston’s Jardim said.
Fabrication plants,the factories, called fabs, where computer chips are made,may suffer the worst in California’s power crisis. When a fab loses power, all chips in the process of being made are ruined, a costly proposition. With its main fab in Newport Beach, Conexant Systems Inc. has seen the worst effects of the energy crisis.
“We’ve put money into buying the most efficient equipment in the fab,” said Conexant spokeswoman Lisa Briggs.
An extra weight for Conexant was its participation in the now-infamous “interruptible” program, in which it received lower rates in return for a commitment to reduce consumption during power emergencies or face steep fines. Conexant’s deal for lower rates has caused it further headaches at a time when its business is slowing. The squeeze prompted serious measures from Conexant, including Chief Executive Dwight Decker’s personal lobbying of state legislators in Sacramento to ease power restrictions.
The company also plans to idle several fabs in the coming months, though the company says the move wasn’t prompted by power concerns but rather slower demand. Conexant also has as many as 16 generators ready to back up chip production in the most dire circumstances.
Microsemi Corp., which makes chips for a wide range of industries, also has generators in place. Unlike Conexant, where production can continue through a blackout, the generators at Microsemi kick in to allow chips in production to reach a stable state and then shut down, according to the company.
As Conexant and other companies grapple with the energy shortage, many of these firms plan to curtail energy use where the officials fear it most: air conditioning units. With lights off, Conexant plans to shut down air conditioners to improve power use.
“It can get a little stuffy some days, but it’s what we have to do to be a good corporate citizen,” said Conexant’s Briggs, who indicated the company has no plans to let employees work from home if the weather gets really hot.
Conexant’s cross-county rival, Broadcom Corp., has similar plans coming, though it hasn’t implemented one yet.
“A summer plan including air-conditioning usage is dependent on what the situation is in the coming months,” said Broadcom’s Algaze.
Comparatively speaking, Broadcom has had it easier than Conexant or Microsemi. The company’s Irvine Spectrum offices house its research and development facilities, but it outsources the production of its chips to fabs elsewhere.
Like Broadcom, Viking cuts back on air conditioning, opting instead to use an “economizer” during the cooler hours of the day and evening. An economizer pulls the cooler outside air into the building so Viking doesn’t have to run air conditioners in the mornings or evenings. n
