CPUC Launches Probe into Edison Outages

The California Public Utilities Commission said Wednesday they are conducting an investigation into prolonged power outages in Pasadena and other service area of Southern California Edison (SCE) following last week's windstorm.
"Our enforcement staff is looking into why the outages occurred and why it is taking so long for power to be restored," CPUC Executive Director Paul Clanon said in a statement. "SCE has a duty to provide safe and reliable service to its customers and we have a duty to make sure SCE is doing all it can to fulfill that mandate."
SCE officials said they are fully aware that many of its customers have been frustrated by the length of outages in their neighborhoods. They added that the company has been working around the clock with crews from across its service territory to restore service as quickly and safely as possible. They said the company would cooperate fully with an investigation by the California Public Utilities Commission
“Some of our customers are upset, and we aren’t happy either. I’m committed to thoroughly examining what happened every step of the way and creating ways to improve our response in the future,” SCE President Ron Litzinger said.
The extremely high winds caused considerable damage to the distribution power grid, including power lines, poles and associated equipment. Trees and other large pieces of debris hampered repair crew access to equipment Litzinger added.
The CPUC investigation will look into the cause of the outages, including pole failures and any other potential safety factors that contributed to the outages or their duration, as well as staffing levels and the length of time it is taking SCE to respond to safety related calls from its customers and the accuracy of information being conveyed Clanon said.
"We will determine whether SCE met all safety requirements and did all it could to prevent outages, and that it is now doing all it can to restore power and communicate with its customers," he said. "If we determine that SCE has violated safety rules, it may face fines and penalties."
The agency is expected to issue a preliminary report in January.