CC SR 20230801 02 - SCE Power Outages
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 08/01/2023
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business
AGENDA TITLE:
Consideration and possible action to receive a report from Southern California Edison
(SCE) regarding frequent power outages in the Grandview Estates neighborhood.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Receive and file a status report from SCE on its action plan and timeline for
correcting power outage issues in the Grandview Estates neighborhood; and
(2) Request SCE return on October 3, 2023, with a progress update for correcting the
power outage issues in the Grandview Estates neighborhood.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Karina Bañales, Deputy City Manager
REVIEWED BY: Same as above
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. April 4, 2023 staff report
B. June 6, 2023 staff report
BACKGROUND:
On June 6, the City Council received an update from Celina Luna, interim Government
Relations Manager of Southern California Edison (SCE) Local Public Affairs. That
evening, SCE presented work performed in the Grandview Estates neighborhood to
address short-term solutions since April 4, 2023. At the conclusion of the June 6 meeting,
the City Council requested Staff return on August 1 with an update on the following:
• Weekly Updates to City Staff from SCE.
• Budget allocation for projects in the Grandview Estates neighborhood.
• Power Outages in the Grandview Neighborhood
• Claims submitted by resident(s)
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This evening, the City Council will receive an update on these items.
DISCUSSION:
Since the June 6 meeting, Staff has been in regular communication with SCE regarding
the items addressed at the June 6 City Council meeting. Below is a summary that was
discussed and will be presented by SCE this evening.
Weekly Update from SCE:
SCE has been providing the City Manager with a “Rancho Palos Verdes Reliability
Weekly SCE Update” which includes items presented at the June 6 meeting. The weekly
updates include replacing 1,500 feet of cable with covered conductors, vegetation
management to reduce the trees impacting equipment, and conducting field visits by SCE
personnel to identify possible installation of additional protective devices to improve
reliability. Since the June 6 meeting, SCE has provided updates regarding incidents that
require immediate solutions and informs the City Manager when there is no new
information available.
Budget allocation for projects in the Grandview Estates neighborhood
Since the June 6 meeting, SCE has shared the following status update with Staff on its
current long-term projects. SCE shared that its budget cycle runs on a calendar year cycle
from January 1 through December 31. Therefore, some long-term solutions for the
Grandview Estates neighborhood that require funding, such as the replacement of
transformers or other significant system upgrades, will be considered for funding by SCE
in the coming months for SCE’s 2024 budget year. SCE will provide information on
funding projects for the Grandview Estates neighborhood at tonight’s meeting. That said,
the following projects have been funded.
• Remote Automatic Reclosers (RARs) – FY 2023
An RAR is a protection device that is designed to intelligently and safely isolate portions
of the circuit to sectionalize and minimize the overall impact of outages. These devices
provide flexibility in the circuits to isolate an outage to the smallest area pos sible, which
should reduce the duration of outages occurring throughout a neighborhood. The
deployment of RARs is a strategy that is being used to sectionalize the grid and allow
portions of the circuit to remain energized during an outage event.
SCE continues to work on the installation of RARs in the Grandview Estates
neighborhood. The RARs are in the design phase and will move onto the planning stage
and are on target to be completed by the end of the calendar year 2023.
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• 4kV Cutover – FY 2024
SCE has received approval and is currently in the planning stage of a partial 4kV cutover
plan of the Arcturus 4kV circuit. This is part of a long-term solution for the voltage issues
experienced in the Grandview Estates neighborhood. Th e expected completion timeline
is currently set for the third quarter of 2024. This project will enable SCE to reconfigure
the circuitry to better serve the residents of Grandview Estates. SCE will provide more
information about this project during tonight’s presentation.
It is important to note that Staff has requested SCE collaborate with the City’s engineering
team to conduct a peer review, as requested by the City Council.
Grandview Estates Neighborhood – Power Outages
From April 4, 2023 to July 25, 2023, SCE reported the following power outages affecting
the Grandview Estates neighborhood. SCE will address all of these outages during
tonight’s presentation.
• Planned Maintenance Outages
SCE reported that Grandview Estates experienced six planned outages. Four outages
were planned for work related to the reliability updates, and two outages were for wildfire
mitigation, including the installation of a covered conductor and the replacement of
deteriorated poles.
• Unplanned Outages
From, April 4, 2023 to July 25, 2023, SCE reported three unplanned outages in the circuits
that partially serve the Grandview Estates neighborhood.
Claims Submitted by Residents:
SCE met with a resident that submitted a claim for loss of food and other items
immediately after the June 6 meeting. SCE informed the resident and Staff that the items
claimed as a loss cannot be reimbursed due to the claim being closed. SCE will work with
residents and staff by distributing information on how to submit a claim to ensure the
process is handled appropriately.
Continue to October 3, 2023
Based on the information being presented this evening, Staff recommends the City
Council request SCE return on October 3, 2023 for a status update on projects in the
Grandview Estates neighborhood.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
RPV Cooling Centers
As we enter the hot summer months, when increased power usage may strain the grid,
the City is prepared to offer cooling centers to residents when needed. The City Manager
or their designee may open cooling centers when the temperature is forecast to exceed
85 degrees for a period of 24 hours or more, when the temperature exceeds 85 degrees
and the City experiences a power outage, or when a heat warning, excessive heat
advisory, or excessive heat watch is issued. So far this summer, the City opened a cooling
center at Hesse Park on July 14-15.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends the City Council receive and file a report from SCE regarding ongoing
power outages in the Grandview Estates neighborhood and its action plan and a timeline
for addressing power grid issues, and request SCE return with a progress update on
October 3, 2023.
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