Category: Southern California Edison

Metallic Balloons Can Cause Power Outages: Edison Warns Amid Graduation Season

Schools are in full swing celebrating the graduation season, but Southern California Edison is telling people to not turn the celebration into a blast—with metallic balloon-caused power outages. Over the last five years, May and June—the graduation months—have statistically made up almost a third of foil balloon outages each year, according to the utility company….


Lawsuit Accuses SoCal Edison of Sparking Coastal Fire, Now Contained

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif.—One week after the Coastal Fire erupted in Laguna Niguel, eventually spreading across 200 acres and destroying 20 homes and damaging 11 others, a group of residents impacted by the blaze are suing Southern California Edison, accusing the utility’s equipment of sparking the blaze. The fire was declared fully contained on Tuesday. No…


Orange County Power Authority Reports $3 Million Operation Loss

The Orange County Power Authority—the county’s first community choice energy program—released a report at a May 3 board meeting that showed a $3 million operating loss over a nine-month period, as the agency’s financial feasibility has been questioned since its launch. The power authority was created in November 2020 to provide greener energy to residents…


Orange County Power Authority to Launch Electricity Service in April

After over a year in the making, the Orange County Power Authority (OCPA) will be launching an electricity service for commercial customers beginning in April. Launched in late 2020, the power authority is Orange County’s first “community choice energy” program that seeks to provide greener energy to residents and businesses in the county. Power authority…


Why Utility Bills Are Rising for Edison Customers

There are a number of factors contributing to rising electricity bills including the increasing wildfire prevention efforts, rising gas prices, and wildfire insurance costs, which have not gone unnoticed by some of Southern California Edison’s (SCE) 15 million customers. Ron Gales, a spokesperson for the utility, additionally said efforts to prevent SCE’s power lines from…


Edison to Pay $550 Million in Settlement Over 2017–18 Wildfires

LOS ANGELES—Southern California Edison will pay $550 million under a settlement related to a series of 2017–18 wildfires that killed five people, destroyed nearly 3,000 structures, and consumed more than 385,000 acres, the California Public Utilities Commission announced Dec. 16. The settlement is in response to multiple violations of regulations that govern the design, construction,…


Orange County Restaurant Owner Settles With Edison Over Transformer Blast

LOS ANGELES—A Huntington Beach restaurant owner who suffered severe burns and brain damage—when an underground transformer exploded during a 2019 Oktoberfest celebration—has reached a conditional settlement with Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) and General Electric Co. Bernie Bischof, the owner of Old World German Restaurant, filed the negligence lawsuit in June 2020 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging the…


Edison’s New Rate Plans Increases Costs for Solar Panel Customers

As Southern California Edison (SCE) begins to roll out its new “time-of-use” plans to its residential customers, many solar panel owners are up in arms as their energy bills will not be as low as they used to be. For years, SCE operated on a tiered energy billing system, where customers—spanning across Orange, Los Angeles,…


Huntington Beach Solidifies Community Choice Energy Participation

Huntington Beach residents will maintain its membership with the community choice energy (CCE) program following a Feb. 1 council vote. The confirmation of program participation means local government will provide energy to power the city, rather than Southern California Edison. The Orange County Power Authority is spearheading the effort with the regional community choice aggregate Joint…


Law Firm Seeks Clients to Sue SoCal Edison Over Silverado Fire

A San Diego-law firm is trying to drum up clients to sue Southern California Edison (SCE) over damages resulting from the Silverado Fire in Orange and San Bernardino counties, claiming the utility company has admitted its own responsibility for the fire starting. But the law firm may be overplaying its hand, says SCE spokesperson Chris…