Southern California Edison crews restore service to power lines after outages due to hurricane-force winds, going block by block to ensure homes, businesses have power

Tracy McDonald

ROSEMEAD, California , December 7, 2011 (press release) – Southern California Edison (SCE) has restored service to power lines that had been out since hurricane-force winds hit last week and now are going block by block to ensure customers’ homes and businesses have power.

While line power lines that run between power poles are back in service, SCE is checking with customers to ensure that the lines that run from poles to homes or businesses are all working. In some cases SCE is calling customers to check to see if their power has been restored, and if it hasn’t, is dispatching crews to do repairs to restore service.

As of 1 p.m. PST, there were 1,504 customers throughout the Greater San Gabriel Valley area without service. SCE is prioritizing customers who have been without power the longest.

SCE crews have been working around the clock since the high winds hit on the night of Nov. 30. SCE set goals in restoring service to the 433,945 customers affected and missed some restoration targets in the hardest hit areas because of unforeseen damage and challenging weather conditions.

Since Saturday, SCE has opened community outreach centers in the hardest hit areas where customers were provided with free basic supplies, including flashlights, water and ice. Two centers are open today in Temple City and Altadena.

If you see a downed line or dangling wire — even if it appears not to be live — don’t touch or approach it and call 911 immediately.

Safety reminders

When power is out, SCE reminds its customers to:

Use flashlights and have a battery-operated radio. Use flashlights for lighting during a power outage; do not use candles because they pose a significant fire hazard.
Watch for traffic signals that may be out. Approach those intersections as four-way stops.
Do not use equipment indoors that is designed for outdoor cooking. Such equipment can emit carbon monoxide and other toxic gases.
Leave the doors of your refrigerator and freezer closed to keep your food as fresh as possible. An unopened refrigerator can keep foods cold enough for a couple of hours. A half full freezer will stay cold for up to 24 hours and a full freezer for 48 hours. If you must eat food that was refrigerated or frozen, check it carefully for signs of spoilage.
Check on your neighbors to make sure everyone is safe.

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 nearly 14 million via 4.9 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.

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