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January 19, 2001 9:50 AM, EST

Diesel and jet fuel – along with gasoline – are starting to become scarce in California because the ongoing electricity shortage caused the temporary shutdown of a pipeline, the Associated Press reported late Thursday.

Power availability to five pipeline pumping stations between Los Angeles and Las Vegas has been cut from 24 hours to six overnight hours, the news service said.

Trucking is likely to get a double-whammy from the energy crisis. Not only will the industry feel the pinch of likely fuel price increases, but it will also take a hit on reduced shipments as manufacturers halt production to duck sky-high electricity costs.

Many large industrial concerns in Southern California – where rolling blackouts have not yet hit – have agreed to have their power cut in return for lower rates, the New York Times reported Friday.

Those facilities have been shutting down for days at a time, and some have temporarily laid off hundreds of employees and are shifting production to other states, the paper said. Industrial development experts fear some of the production will not return.