B-Roll: SCE Crew Transformer Replacement

It's a cold, rainy morning in a Santa Fe Springs residential neighborhood, where an overnight lightning strike has disabled a transformer atop a power pole, knocking out electric service to seven homes. The job of climbing 45 feet up the pole to install a replacement during Tuesday's storm falls to Southern California Edison journeyman linemen Efrain Quezada and Justin Ballesteros.

"It was cold and wet, so we wanted to complete the job as quickly and, of course, as safely as possible," said John Salinas, the SCE foreman overseeing the five-person repair team. The lineworkers remove the damaged transformer and use a pulley system to hoist the new 600-pound cylinder into place. Quezada and Ballesteros are positioned at the top of the pole with an array of power and hand tools to install the new transformer and perform the delicate task of reattaching it to power lines.

"We restored power to the homes in about an hour and a half," Salinas said. A remarkable achievement considering the weather conditions, but one that was repeated by crews throughout SCE's 50,000-square-mile service area. The series of dangerous storms brought rain, snow, wind, lightning and debris flows, presenting challenges for those tasked with keeping power flowing to 5 million customers.

During the latest storm, SCE crews replaced 70 transformers, 32 poles and 132 sections of electrical wire.

"Because of the proactive steps we took in advance of the storms, including staging crews in appropriate areas and ensuring we were adequately staffed in our Distribution Operations Center, our storm response went as smoothly as it could have," said Kathy Hidalgo, SCE's incident commander. "Our system held up well."

More rain is forecast to arrive in Southern California on Saturday and through Monday. SCE is preparing to respond to conditions of "about the same level of intensity as this weekend's storm rolls through our service area," Hidalgo said.

Before this week's storm hit the Santa Barbara region, SCE moved teams into place ahead of time, which was critical because it allowed crews to avoid some of the access issues that arose after Highway 101 was flooded and closed.

Hidalgo also credits SCE's recent grid hardening work, including the installation of more than 3,500 miles of covered wire (power lines with a protective coating) that improves resiliency, especially during windy conditions.

At the storm's peak late Tuesday morning, about 20,000 of SCE's 5 million business and residential customers were temporarily without power. By Tuesday at 6 p.m., power to all but 7,000 had been restored.

Customers can report or inquire about outages at 800-611-1911 and get the latest outage information at sce.com/outages. Updates are also available at twitter.com/sce and facebook.com/sce.

As the storm threat continues, SCE offers these important safety tips:

Watch for Downed Wires: Severe weather can cause power lines to fall. They can electrify puddles, wet grass and the surrounding area. Never approach a downed wire or anyone or anything in contact with it. Never try to remove a broken tree limb or branch that has come in contact with a power line. Stay away and call 911 immediately. A downed wire doesn't always spark or hum. Always assume a downed wire is energized. Coming into contact with electrical wires can cause serious injury or even death.

Beware During Flooding: Just 6 inches of moving water can knock you down and 2 feet can sweep your vehicle away. 

Use Battery-Operated Radios and Flashlights: Check the batteries to ensure they are fresh. Use flashlights for lighting during a power outage. Do not use candles because they pose a fire hazard. 

Practice Generator Safety: If you use a generator, place it outdoors and plug individual appliances directly into it using heavy-duty extension cords. Connecting generators directly to household circuits creates "backfeed," which is dangerous to repair crews. 

Be Mindful of Space Heaters: Do not leave your space heater unattended; unplug it when not in use. Consider getting a space heater that has an automatic shut-off. 

Drive Safely: When power is out, traffic signals may be out, so approach those intersections as four-way stops. 

For more electrical safety tips, visitsce.com/safety.

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Edison International published this content on 13 January 2023 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 14 January 2023 01:59:05 UTC.