Imagine this winter scene - a bitterly cold evening, as households across Maine are hunkered in. The television is on, the dishwasher is toiling noisily, lights are ablaze as children do homework, play on the computer or listen to music. Then it abruptly cuts to black and silence, followed by voices that state the obvious: "We've lost power."
In winter, power outages are more than inconvenient, they're dangerous. Blackouts caused by fuel shortages rather than weather are also a very real possibility in Maine and New England this winter.

The problem, as explained by Kurt Adams, chairman of Maine's Public Utilities Commission, is caused by repercussions after the Gulf Coast hurricanes. Natural-gas infrastructure damage has led to volatile, higher prices, which may limit the availability of the fuel that drives many New England electricity plants. The result could be the "controlled disaster" of rolling blackouts, where power is purposefully shut off to successive areas to reduce demand. Another, more remote, possibility is grid failure, which isn't planned.

The Katrina disaster should have taught us that being ill- prepared can be a hugely expensive error in judgment. California was forced into rolling blackouts five years ago, after a combination of higher demand and financial collapses by utilities in the wake of deregulation.

What can Maine do? In the long-term, the state and New England will be forced to consider expansion of the sources of electricity generation, including nuclear power, coal, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and wind energy. Increasing the energy efficiency of large commercial users is also important, saving money over time.

For this winter, though, the state PUC is hoping Mainers will adopt a regional conservation theme the department is creating. A big sacrifice is not required - a 2 percent reduction of power use should provide the cushion needed to avoid blackout scenarios during the high-peak times of very cold weather. That's when the natural gas supply is strained by residential and business use.

Again, California provides an example of civic cooperation to manage crises. A "Flex Your Power" program in that state cut demand far more than the 2 percent seen as needed in Maine and New England, and continues today.

Maine officials, through the media, will be announcing the regional program soon. The conservation tips will not be inconvenient, from shutting off lights to not using a dishwasher for several hours.

If California can make conservation succeed, so can Maine.