City puts Edison under the spotlight

Officials want to know what’s being done to reduce shut-offs



LIGHT FIGHT—During last week’s City Council meeting, Moorpark officials shared how staff has held Southern California Edison accountable for power shutdowns. The city invited an Edison representative to explain what the company is doing to prevent similar outages in the future. Acorn file photo

LIGHT FIGHT—During last week’s City Council meeting, Moorpark officials shared how staff has held Southern California Edison accountable for power shutdowns. The city invited an Edison representative to explain what the company is doing to prevent similar outages in the future. Acorn file photo

Few Moorpark residents will forget last Thanksgiving. For many, it was a holiday spent in the dark.

In response to the Public Safety Power Shut-offs in November 2021, the city took time during its City Council meeting last week to share how staff has held Southern California Edison accountable for the shutdowns.

The city also invited a representative from the company to explain what the utility is doing to prevent similar outages from happening in the future.

Rudy Gonzales, Edison’s government relations manager, said the company is working to reduce the risk of wildfires as well as the problems caused by the outages by improving infrastructure and offering relief programs to eligible customers. Gonzales added that Moorpark residents can expect a three-to-four-month reprieve from shut-offs due to recent rain.

The council made it clear that residents had little patience for the ongoing power shut-offs, especially when the lights go out during a major holiday.

“I hope you understand when the electricity goes out on Thanksgiving and people are sending me pictures of their Thanksgiving turkey thrown in the trash, all understanding and goodwill up to that point is instantly lost,” Councilmember David Pollock told the Edison representative during the Jan. 19 special City Council meeting.

Utilities commission

In March, the city joined a coalition of nine local governments in providing input to the California Public Utilities Commission’s safety shut-off regulations.

City Manager Troy Brown said it’s just one way the city is ensuring Edison lives up to its promises of improving its infrastructure and making shut-offs more bearable for residents.

The CPUC regulates privately owned public utilities in the state, including Edison.

A CPUC investigation of power shut-offs in 2019 concluded that Edison and other large utilities violated many existing regulations and failed to provide a safe and reliable service. In January 2021, the commission demanded a public explanation from Edison and required the company to provide reports on how it was addressing the shortcomings every two weeks.

Last year, Moorpark residents experienced shut-offs two days in January, one day in October and four days in November, according to city data.

Following the shut-offs over Thanksgiving, the city filed written responses with the CPUC and Edison, expressing concerns with Edison’s failure to provide timely— or any—notification before shut-offs and the resulting hardships on the city and its residents.

“Providing this event-specific feedback is very important,” Megan Somogyi, the city’s special counsel, said during the meeting.

She said the city’s feedback helps the CPUC understand the difficulties of the outages on residents and prompts Edison to improve its practices.

Moorpark and the coalition advocated for Edison to: offer more resources, such as food replacement and hotel accommodations, for affected residents; equip medically vulnerable residents with sufficient backup batteries; ensure that community resource centers meet residents’ needs; coordinate with the city when organizing the centers; and provide timely, accurate and consistent information about PSPS events.

The utilities commission continues to monitor Edison’s shut-offs.

“The hope is still that the utilities will be able to harden their systems sufficiently so that de-energization becomes a rarity,” Somogyi told the council. “But I think the consensus among the utilities . . . is that we are not likely to see the complete extinction of PSPS.”

Edison’s response

Gonzales said all of Moorpark is classified as a high-risk fire area. The company is insulating conductors, inspecting equipment, installing wildfire cameras and weather stations, and removing dangerous trees to reduce the risk of fires.

Residents who rely on electricity to operate their medical equipment may be eligible for Edison’s medical baseline allowance program, which provides additional hours of electricity at a lower rate. These customers may also qualify for a backup battery and solar panel.

Rebates for portable power stations and generators as well as hotel discounts for those experiencing extended shortages may also be available.

Although Gonzales said Edison does not cover the cost of spoiled food resulting from shutoffs at this time, Councilmember Antonio Castro encouraged the company to consider partnering with nonprofits to replace spoiled food for those in need.

Gonzales highlighted Edison’s plans for upgrading four of Moorpark’s 10 distribution circuits. When Mayor Janice Parvin asked about plans for the Strathern circuit, which has been especially impacted by shut-offs, he said he was unaware but could send information later.

“That’s a pretty good segment of the population and after those . . . outages last year, they’re real sensitive,” Parvin told Gonzales. “The fact that they’re not in this presentation is a little unnerving.”

Gonzales said Edison will raise awareness about Public Safety Power Shut-offs through meetings with city officials and residents as well as newsletters.