Without new generation capability, the supply of electricity in Arizona will not meet demand.

California electric crisis is warning:

Keep our lights on!

Once again, we look to California for a hint of what's to come. And once again, our friend to the west is no beacon of light.

Because of a current electricity crisis, what's happening in California - the threat of rolling blackouts, the possibility of power cuts, the likelihood of increased consumer rates - is what could happen in Arizona, unless steps are taken now to meet our future electricity needs.

The Salt River Project's plan to expand its Santan facility in Gilbert is one of those important steps.

Arizona is not California. But Energy Secretary Bill Richardson has said Arizona and other Western states are not immune to similar dire situations because of a severe shortage of electricity.

How dire? California state officials believe SoCal Edison, one of its two largest utilities, might soon need to cut power for four- to six- hour intervals to about 5 million customers. That's about half of the utility's service area.

The California Public Utilities Commission appears poised to impose electricity rate increases. The SoCal and Pacific Gas & Electric have asked for rate increases of between 10 percent and 17 percent.

Without new generation capability, the supply of electricity in Arizona will not meet demand in the not-so-distant future. Santan's expansion needs to be done. Plain, if not simple.

An extraordinarily long public hearing process on the plant expansion proposal ended last week. The Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee could make a preliminary recommendation as early as Jan. 26 on the SRP's request to add an 825-megawatt plant to the existing 300-megawatt facility.

During 17 days of testimony, Gilbert residents told the committee of its concerns about the proposal's impact on residential property values, the environment and the aesthetics of the neighborhood.

The SRP counters there's no good way to determine the proposal's impact on property values. We do know, however, that people are still buying and selling houses near the plant.

As for visual impact, yes, there will be 150-foot stacks in sight. But several of the utility's recommendations for improving the site, including landscaping and trails, will mitigate the plant's physical presence.

And as for the environment, because of new technology that will be applied to the new facility and the existing generator, the SRP claims the expanded plant will reduce emissions of air pollutants from current levels.

It is important that Arizona attend to its future power needs. To do otherwise is to risk the crisis now gripping California.

The Arizona Republic editorials represent the position of the newspaper, whose editorial board consists of Keven Willey, Phil Boas, Jennifer Dokes, Doug MacEachern, Joel Nilsson, O. Ricardo Pimentel, Robert Robb, Laurie Roberts, Linda Valdez, Ken Western and Steve Benson.