SCE Publicly Releases CPUC Submission on the Woolsey Fire
December 06 2018 - 4:45PM
Business Wire
Southern California Edison remains committed to supporting our
customers and communities affected by the recent wildfires; our
hearts go out to all of those who have suffered losses during this
difficult time.
As with its Nov. 8 electric safety incident report, SCE is
publicly releasing a letter it submitted today to the California
Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) providing additional details
regarding the operation of its electric system on Nov. 8 in the
vicinity of where the Woolsey Fire reportedly began.
The previous incident report noted an outage on the Big Rock 16
kV circuit out of the Chatsworth substation at 2:22 p.m. on Nov. 8.
Once SCE was able to access the site, we found no evidence of an
energized wire on the ground; however, we did find a guy wire,
which is used to provide pole support, in proximity to a line known
as a jumper, which is used to connect two energized lines. As
discussed in today’s letter to the commission, the potential that
the Nov. 8 outage was related to contact being made between the guy
wire and the jumper remains under review by SCE, along with several
additional areas of focus.
At this time, the cause of the outage on the Big Rock circuit
has not been determined and it may not be definitively understood
until additional information is available, including information
which can only be obtained through examination and testing of
equipment retained by the California Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection as part of its ongoing investigation of the Woolsey
Fire. SCE will continue to cooperate with the investigation, which
may take a considerable amount of time to complete.
Comprehensive Policies Still Needed to Address the Growing
Threat of Wildfires
With the increasingly serious, ever-growing wildfire threat to
California, it is unmistakably clear that further urgent work is
needed to develop thoughtful, comprehensive policies to address
this statewide problem. SCE strongly supports the increased funding
for fire suppression and improved forest and land use management
policies included in SB 901(Dodd, D-Napa).
While the state legislature has taken an important initial step
to mitigate wildfire risks through the passage of SB 901, much more
is urgently needed to address the critical issues of fire
prevention, suppression efforts and liability allocation. SCE
believes the state can do more, including ensuring the proper
allocation of legal responsibility — including SCE’s where
appropriate — for the often-tragic consequences of wildfires.
The new Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery
established under SB 901 provides an opportunity for a thoughtful,
in-depth examination of how state policy allocates liability and
compensates for fire damage. Without continued focus, the wildfire
threat will only become more acute as our climate continues to
change.
Edison’s Efforts at Managing the Wildfire Threat in
California
Safety is the company’s top priority and a core value for SCE.
Its employees work vigilantly year-round to strengthen the electric
system and protect the public and SCE’s employees against a variety
of natural and man-made threats. SCE has long taken substantial
steps to reduce the risk of wildfires in its service territory and
continue to look for ways to enhance its operational practices and
infrastructure. SCE employs design and construction standards,
vegetation management practices and other operational practices to
mitigate wildfire risk and has collaborative partnerships with fire
agencies to maintain fire safety.
SCE has proposed a $582 million Grid Safety and Resiliency
Program (GS&RP) consisting of additional measures to enhance
wildfire safety in a Sept. 10 filing at the commission.
Under the GS&RP, SCE is incorporating leading mitigation
measures to enhance the significant practices already in place to
reduce the risk of wildfires. Key elements of the plan include
reducing the risk of sparks that can ignite fires by replacing
nearly 600 miles of overhead power lines in high fire risk areas
with insulated wire (often referred to as covered conductors) by
the end of 2020 and another 3,400 miles of overhead lines with
insulated wire between 2021 and 2025.
SCE also is installing nearly 15,700 “current limiting” fuses
that reduce fire risk, installing cameras and up to 850 weather
stations to help monitor high-fire weather conditions across the
utility service territory and has proposed additional operational
best practices to mitigate fire risk.
Many Factors Contribute to Rising Wildfire Risk
Multiple factors contribute to wildfires across SCE’s service
territory and throughout California. This includes the buildup of
dry vegetation in areas severely impacted by years of historic
drought; the failure of multiple responsible parties to clear the
buildup of hazardous fuels; increasing temperatures; lower
humidity; and strong Santa Ana winds. Such factors can trigger
wildfires for a variety of reasons and strain or damage utility
facilities, no matter how well designed, constructed and
maintained. Wildfire risk is increasing at the same time more and
more residential and commercial development is occurring in some of
the highest-risk areas — with more than a quarter of SCE’s service
territory in high fire risk areas identified on the CPUC’s fire
risk maps.
About Southern California Edison
An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California
Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a
population of approximately 15 million via 5 million customer
accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central,
Coastal and Southern California.
Safe Harbor Statement for Investors
Statements contained in this press release about the Woolsey
Fire, and other statements that do not directly relate to a
historical or current fact, are forward-looking statements. In this
press release, the words "believes," "continuing to," "predict,"
"plan," "may," "will," and variations of such words and similar
expressions, or discussions of strategy, plans or actions, are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements
reflect our current expectations; however, such statements
necessarily involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could
differ materially from current expectations. Important factors that
could cause different results include the timing and outcome of the
investigations and internal review of the Woolsey Fire. Other
important factors are discussed in Southern California Edison’s
Form 10-K, most recent Form 10-Q and other reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on our
website: www.edisoninvestor.com. Edison International and Southern
California Edison Company have no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether due to new
information, future events or otherwise.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181206005977/en/
Media Contact: Steve Conroy, (626) 302-2255
Edison (NYSE:EIX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Edison (NYSE:EIX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024