Southern California Edison Provides Rebuilding Plan for Electric Distribution in Altadena and Malibu

Southern California Edison (SCE) provided an initial comprehensive plan to rebuild the impacted electrical distribution infrastructure in the Altadena and Malibu areas affected by the January wildfires.

The plan focuses on increasing reliability and long-term resilience, including the undergrounding of new distribution equipment. SCE’s preliminary plan will help underground 153 circuit miles: 130 circuit miles, which includes all distribution power lines in High Fire Risk Areas (HFRA) and 23 circuit miles in areas of Altadena not present in HFRA. An additional 19 circuit miles in Altadena are examined.

SCE submitted a detailed plan in a letter to Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, summarizing work and areas for collaboration with local, state and federal government; nonprofit and technology partners; and community members. The cost of the rebuild is estimated at $860 million to $925 million. SCE will work to find efficiencies and look for funds from various entities for the plan.

Edison International has acknowledged the possibility of SCE’s equipment being involved in the cause of the Eaton Fire. The investigation is ongoing, and the company is committed to transparency with the public.

The rebuilding plan includes:

• Undergrounding 40 circuit miles of distribution lines in Altadena and surrounding neighborhoods within HFRA and 23 circuit miles in non-HRFA, along with 90 circuit miles in Malibu and the nearby area within HFRA. SCE is evaluating the feasibility of an additional 19 circuit miles in Altadena. The scope and timing of undergrounding is based on permitting, community and customer plans, and the ability to secure funding. Some sections of the grid are set to be completed in a few months while others are expected to take several years. Power lines that are not undergrounded will be hardened with covered conductor. The plan, refined through continued discussions and requiring support from various entities, will reduce Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) and enhance service reliability for customers.
• Upgrading infrastructure to accommodate greater customer demand for electricity, increase reliability and support clean energy adoption. These efforts, which are consistent with SCE’s grid enhancement plans throughout the service area, include updating the grid design to accommodate more customer demand (such as increasing the distribution voltage in west Altadena from 4 kV to 16 kV) and advanced grid technologies such as automation to enhance SCE’s ability to maintain equipment, isolate disruptions and restore service faster.
• Strengthening long-term community resilience and optimizing the grid through localized energy solutions. These efforts include exploring the potential to develop designated Community Resiliency Zones where customers can shelter with backup power during emergencies; providing portable battery storage for critical care customers; and installing smart panels at rebuilt residential properties to provide greater control over energy usage and easier adoption of new technologies.
• Benefitting customers by accelerating rebuilding through cross-sector collaboration, including partnerships with Los Angeles County, Caltrans and telecommunications providers to consider ways to coordinate civil work, reduce costs and streamline permitting. SCE is exploring ways to reduce the costs and seeking opportunities to access state, federal and philanthropic funds to ease the financial burden on customers.