Anne McDermott: Californians examining their electricity use

Anne McDermott

CNN Correspondent Anne McDermott is in California reporting on residents' use of electricity and spent time with a Los Angeles-area couple to see it first-hand.

Q: Do Californians seem to be heeding the call to conserve?

McDERMOTT: I think the message is just now starting to seep into a lot of people's consciousness. When people are asked to conserve, they generally do respond. I can point to the recycling programs in many California cities and people are doing a good job at that.

But energy is something in which people think, including myself, that when you walk into a room and flip a lightswitch, electricity will always be there. So, it's probably going to take a little bit more to force people to cut back.

But, like I say, the message is starting to get in people's consciousness.

Q: Are Californians angry over the situation? If so, who are they angry with?

McDERMOTT: I think people don't know who to be angry with. They do see rising energy costs and at the same time they're hearing cut down. They're not certain if the provider is to blame; they're not certain if it's the legislators that led the movement to deregulation; and they're not sure if they (as consumers) are using too much energy.

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I think it's a combination of all those things.

Q: What did you learn from your visit with a California couple?

McDERMOTT: Shelley Ward, 38, is a personal chef and goes to people's homes in Los Angeles and cooks for them. Her husband, Jim, is 41 and he is a voice-over artist, someone who performs the voices of cartoon characters. They are a very hard-working couple.

They are typical in that they have a lot more energy for appliances and household goods than their parents had. Something else that makes them similar to most Americans is that they're not aware of just how much energy they use. That's because they have things like a DVD player, a computer, a fax machine, cell phones and other items.

Right now, their average bill runs $100 to $200 a month. To some people in the country, that's low; to some people, that's very high.

When we asked them questions, they were surprised by how much electricity they use. And they started to think about it more. They started to think: 'If there were rolling blackouts, what would happen? Would we be able to get money from ATM machines? Would we be able to pump gas from the self-service stations?'

Those are all good questions. They also noted that these are things they worry about in Los Angeles, if there is another strong earthquake.

They said that California's energy crisis -- even though it doesn't affect them as much because Los Angeles proper didn't take part in deregulation -- has caused them to think more about what could happen to them if someday Los Angeles does not have enough power.

Shelley said she has become even more aware of power usage because she brings a lot of her equipment to people's homes outside of Los Angeles to cook for them. For example, she found herself at a client's home in Newhall, California, using her Cuisinart, the microwave, oven and stovetop. For some clients, that costs a bit of money, but so far, she says, no clients have complained.

But Shelley says it has given her -- shall we say -- food for thought.

A couple nights ago, as Shelley and Jim were plugging in their Christmas lights, they paused and looked at those lights and started laughing, thinking, 'That's more electricity we're using.' In fact, they noticed throughout their neighborhood that more and more lights were adorning homes this holiday season.

Shelley and Jim did say they've started to think what they could conserve with.

I must point out too that this is not a couple that ordinarily wastes natural resources. They are very concerned with recycling glass, paper, plastic and cans. But energy wasn't something they had really considered before, but they are thinking a lot more about it now.