The Nights the Lights Went Out

As darkness falls, the skyline of Portland, Ore., takes on an eerie cast, as if the city of 390,000 were deserted. Along the downtown streets, the familiar glow of neon signs is missing. Against the horizon, the 30-story Georgia-Pacific Building and 40-story First National Bank Tower loom like abandoned hulks, their silhouettes illuminated only by a meager handful of office lights and the winking red beacons that warn aircraft that the buildings still stand.

The desolate scene, a nightly occurrence since late September, could be a dramatic forecast of the future for other cities in the U.S., Europe and Japan. The Pacific Northwest is in the grip of a serious energy crisis, ironically brought on by the same mild weather that allowed the remainder of the nation to slip relatively easily through last winter's fuel-oil shortage. Because snow did not build up in normal amounts in the Cascades and Canadian Rockies, this spring's runoff into the hydroelectric reservoirs along the Columbia River was the lowest in 95 years. The problem was aggravated by an arid summer. Result: a 7.4% decrease in the amount of electricity available to users in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.

To help ease the shortage, which is expected to last until May 1975, Oregon and Washington have launched strict programs to conserve electricity. In Washington, Governor Dan Evans has told state agencies to set heaters at 68DEG in winter (instead of the usual 72DEG). Secretaries are being instructed to shut off electric typewriters, dictaphones and other office machines when they are not in use. Along the major streets of Seattle, every other street light has been extinguished. In all, conservation measures have cut demand for electricity by 8% to 9%.

Even more drastic steps have been taken in Oregon, where Governor Tom McCall, along with electric utility companies, has put together a package of mandatory and voluntary curbs that could become a model for the nation. By order of the Governor, state office buildings in Salem and Portland are being cleaned during the day instead of at night, with the result that heating and lighting bills have been cut by 14%. Half of the high-intensity lamps along state highways have been shut off, supposedly without making the roads more dangerous. Department stores, shopping centers and supermarkets have voluntarily cut electric usage by 10% to 20% by using lower-wattage light bulbs, reducing the temperature of the hot water in their washrooms and kitchens, and setting thermostats 4DEG to 6DEG lower. There has even been a proposal that all high school football games be shifted from Friday nights to Saturday or Sunday afternoons, a move that could save up to 150,000 kilowatts per contest. The plan was dropped after an electrical engineer calculated that if the spectators stayed at home, they would burn up four times that amount simply heating and lighting their houses.

The most noticeable effect of Oregon's conservation program is a total ban on outdoor-advertisement and shop-window lighting. Last week the program got tougher when the Oregon Public Utility Commission ordered electric companies to disconnect the service of any business that violates the ban. Roadside billboards that once glared into the night now fade into invisibility. This holiday season Portland will not be lit up like a Christmas tree. Lloyd Center, one of the city's large shopping complexes, will forgo the 17,000 lights that usually decorate its 90-ft. Douglas fir; instead, there will be plastic ornaments and tinsel. The call to go acaroling will take on a new meaning. Civic groups are organizing caroling and ice-skating parties in an attempt to keep people out of doors as long and as often as possible, thus reducing the need to heat homes.

So far, Oregon's conservation drive has reduced electric-power usage by 6%. But this saving has not been achieved without cost. For example, aluminum plants in Oregon and Washington have reduced their work forces by more than 1,000 employees; if electricity becomes scarcer the factories may have to shut down altogether, and almost 3,000 more employees will be out of work. Still, Oregon's winning drive to save power suggests that the U.S. can get through the next few months without undue hardship--if it is willing to put up with dreary cityscapes, cold-water handwashing, and the absence of neon signs.

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