CC SR 20231205 02 - SCE Status Update (Agenda Report)
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 12/05/2023
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 progress update from Southern California Edison (SCE) on
addressing frequent power outages in the Grandview Estates neighborhood ; and,
2) If deemed acceptable, consider SCE's request to defer their next detailed progress
report to June 2024 contingent upon SCE's commitment to address any emergent
issues promptly if they arise before the scheduled update and in coordination with
the City Manager.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Jesse Villalpando
REVIEWED BY: Same as below
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. SCE Email Correspondence (Attachment A-1)
B. SCE Request to defer Next Progress Report to Q2 of 2024 (Attachment B-1)
C. October 17, 2023 Staff Report
D. October 3, 2023 Staff report
E. August 1, 2023 staff report
F. June 6, 2023 staff report
G. April 4, 2023 staff report
BACKGROUND:
In early 2023, the Grandview Estates neighborhood experienced prolonged power
outages, some lasting up to two days. This situation prompted numerous calls and emails
from residents to the City, expressing frustration with the unreliable power supply and
raising concerns about the well-being of vulnerable groups like the elderly, those
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RANCHO PALOS VERDES
dependent on medical devices, and families with young children. Such frequent power
outages diminished the neighborhood’s quality of life by posing significant financial
impacts and health risks.
On April 4, 2023, SCE addressed the City Council about these issues, prompting calls
from the Council and residents for SCE to present short-term and long-term action plans
to permanently resolve the recurring power outages and an implementation timeline for
the City Council’s consideration at a future meeting. The Council requested to receive the
detailed action plan and timeline by June 6, 2023.
On June 6, the City Council received an update from Celina Luna, SCE's interim
Government Relations Manager. SCE outlined the short -term measures implemented in
the Grandview Estates neighborhood since April 4. 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)
On August 1, 2023, the City Council received another update from Celina Luna, on work
performed in the Grandview Estates neighborhood to address short-term and long-term
solutions since April 4, 2023. At the conclusion of the August 1 meeting, the Council
requested SCE to report back on October 3 with updates on various aspects, including
the status of solutions, power outages, resident claims, and City Manager Weekly
Updates.
On October 3, 2023, the City Council received an update from City Staff regarding SCE's
strategies to tackle the ongoing power outage issues in Grandview Estates. SCE
representatives were unable to attend the meeting due to a scheduling conflict. As a
result, the City Council postponed their discussion, setting October 17 as the new date
for SCE to provide a first-hand update on the progress since the previous meeting. At the
October 17 meeting, SCE was unable to attend again, compelling the City Staff to relay
updates on their behalf. Acknowledging the need for direct communication from SCE and
with an assurance from SCE to participate, the Council motioned to carry over the agenda
item to tonight’s meeting, anticipating a detailed progress report from SCE.
The Council is now poised to receive this latest progress report update at this evening’s
meeting. Celina Luna has confirmed her attendance tonight to present a detailed report
on SCE's efforts to address the power outage issues in the Grandview Estates
neighborhood. Importantly, while City Staff had originally requested SCE to address a
broad range of topics, including both short-term and long-term solutions, budget
allocations, power outages, resident claims, and ongoing updates to the City Manager,
SCE is requesting a more focused approach for their presentation.
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In recent communications, SCE noted that it will primarily concentrate its report on the
following:
• Infrastructure Investments (short- and long-term).
• Recent Outages in the Grandview Neighborhood.
DISCUSSION:
Since the October 3 meeting, SCE has provided Staff with the following status summary
(Attachment A).
Infrastructure Investments
Remote Automatic Reclosers (RARs):
Southern California Edison has completed installation of the RARs in the Grandview
Estates neighborhood. The SCE Engineering department is scheduling the reconductor
of the apparatus equipment for early December 2023.
The RAR devices were installed at the following locations:
• Manitowac Drive and Fond Du Lac Road
• Willow Wood Road and Silver Spur Road
• Montemalaga Drive and Silver Spur Road
RARs are protection devices that are 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 possible, 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.
4kV Cutover:
Southern California Edison is working on 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. The expected completion timeline is currently se t for
Quarter 3 of 2024. This project will enable SCE to reconfigure the circuitry to serve the
residents of Grandview Estates.
Covered Conductor:
Southern California Edison has completed installation of 1500 feet of covered conductor
and plans to install additional covered conductor in the Grandview Estates neighborhood
in 2024. The installation of covered conductor helps with wildfire mitigation an d reduces
the outages caused by vegetation in contact with the line.
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Grandview Estates Neighborhood – Power outages
SCE is reporting two minor outage in the circuits that partially serve the Grandview
Estates neighborhood since October and they occurred on 10/07/23 and 11/05/23 on the
Venus circuit. These incidents were not a result of equipment failure, and likely due to
vegetation in contact with the line. That said, since the City Council began receiving
progress reports on power outages in the Grandview Estates neighborhood, the
frequency has reduced pointing to improvements to the grid.
SCE Request to Defer Next Progress Report to Second Quarter 2024.
Due to the next phase of the improvements being scheduled for mid-2024, SCE is
requesting that the next progress report occur in June 2024 to be able to provide the City
Council and community with a more robust progress report (Attachment B).
In light of the reduction in power outages, Staff is of the opinion that deferring the next
progress report to June 2024 is acceptable provided that SCE representatives continue
to provide the City Manager with status updates and that any emergent issues a re
resolved immediately in coordination with the City Manager. The City Council and
community will continue to receive status updates via the City Manager’s Weekly
Administrative Report which can be found on the City’s website or received electronically
through a listserv subscription.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends the City Council receive and file a report from SCE regarding ongoing
power outages in the Grandview Estates neighborhood and its short -term and long-term
action plan and a timeline for addressing power grid issues.
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1
Jesse Villalpando
From:Celina Luna <CELINA.LUNA@SCE.COM>
Sent:Tuesday, November 21, 2023 10:32 AM
To:Jesse Villalpando
Cc:Ara Mihranian; Rudolph Gonzales
Subject:RE: (External):Request for SCE Updates - Dec 5th RPV City Council Meeting
EXTERNAL EMAIL: Do not click links or open any attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe!!!.
Hi Jesse,
Thank you for your email. In light of other requests from Rancho Palos Verdes regarding the land movement emergency
declaration, I am not able to provide detailed information prior to the Council meeting on 12/05/23.
I would suggest that your staff report include that updates will be provided on the following at the meeting:
1, Short and Long Term solutions for the Grandview Neighborhood.
2.Recent Outages in Grandview Neighborhood
The other items have been addressed at previous Council meetings and will not be addressed at 12/05/23.
Regards,
Celina
Celina Luna
Government Relations Manager
Local Public Affairs
T. 626‐302‐5040 |PAX. 25040 | M. 213‐523‐8344| Email. celina.luna@sce.com
From: Jesse Villalpando <jvillalpando@rpvca.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, November 21, 2023 10:10 AM
To: Celina Luna <CELINA.LUNA@SCE.COM>
Cc: Robert Brambila <Robert.Brambila@sce.com>; Ara Mihranian <AraM@rpvca.gov>
Subject: (External):Request for SCE Updates ‐ Dec 5th RPV City Council Meeting
Good Morning Celina, In preparation for Southern California Edison's (SCE) update to the City Council on December 5th, I am reaching out to request the latest information on several key topics as per the council's request. We would appreciate
Good Morning Celina,
A-1
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Update on Grandview Estates Neighborhood
INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS
Remote Automatic Reclosers (RARs)
Southern California Edison has completed installation of the RARs in the Grandview
Estates neighborhood. The SCE Engineering department is scheduling the reconductor
of the apparatus equipment for early December 2023.
The RAR devices were installed at the following locations:
• Manitowac Drive and Fond Du Lac Road
• Willow Wood Road and Silver Spur Road
• Montemalaga Drive and Silver Spur Road
RARs are 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 possible, 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.
Grandview Estates Neighborhood – Power outages
Southern California Edison reported the following power outages affecting the
Grandview Estates neighborhood.
Unplanned Outages
SCE reported two minor outage in the circuits that partially serve the Grandview Estates
neighborhood. 10/07/23 and 11/05/23 on the Venus circuit. These incidents were not a
result of equipment failure, and likely due to vegetation in contact with the line.
4kV Cutover
Southern California Edison is working on 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. The expected completion timeline is currently se t for
Quarter 3 of 2024. This project will enable SCE to reconfigure the circuitry to serve the
residents of Grandview Estates.
Covered Conductor
Southern California Edison has completed installation of 1500 feet of covered conductor
and plans to install additional covered conductor in the Grandview Estates
neighborhood in 2024. The installation of covered conductor helps with wildfire
mitigation and reduces the outages caused by vegetation in contact with the line.
A-2
1
Jesse Villalpando
From:Celina Luna <CELINA.LUNA@SCE.COM>
Sent:Tuesday, November 28, 2023 3:44 PM
To:Jesse Villalpando
Cc:Rudolph Gonzales; Ara Mihranian
Subject:RE: (External):Request for SCE Written Updates by 1:00 PM Today - Dec 5th RPV
City Council Meeting
Attachments:Update on Grandview Estates Neighborhood.docx
EXTERNAL EMAIL: Do not click links or open any attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe!!!.
Hi Jesse,
Attached please find the updates from Southern California Edison for next week’s Council item.
As you can see, the next phase of the improvements are scheduled for Quarter 3 of 2024, so we suggest a return no
sooner than late Q2 of 2024.
If there is an emergent issue before that time, we are happy to come before the Council before that time.
Thank you for your understanding and collaboration.
Regards,
Celina
Celina Luna
Government Relations Manager
Local Public Affairs
T. 626‐302‐5040 |PAX. 25040 | M. 213‐523‐8344| Email. celina.luna@sce.com
From: Jesse Villalpando <jvillalpando@rpvca.gov>
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2023 9:41 AM
To: Celina Luna <CELINA.LUNA@SCE.COM>
Cc: Rudolph Gonzales <rudolph.gonzales@sce.com>; Ara Mihranian <AraM@rpvca.gov>
Subject: (External):Request for SCE Written Updates by 1:00 PM Today ‐ Dec 5th RPV City Council Meeting
Hi Celina, I hope you're doing well. I am writing to follow up regarding our upcoming Dec 5th RPV City Council Meeting. We are currently finalizing the agenda report, which is set to be published on the city's website later today. In this regard,
Hi Celina,
I hope you're doing well.
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