Dive Brief:
- Electrical vault explosions from a failed cable splice that caused outages for tens of thousands of Long Beach residents this summer came from a series of missteps that originated in mismanagement from Southern California Edison, the Los Angeles Times reports.
- Two reports released from the utility said poor oversight and inadequate knowledge led to the July 15 outage and another from July 30-Aug. 3, the worst in nearly 60 years.
- The utility has taken steps to address its shortcomings, including a thorough investigation of every underground vault in downtown Long Beach, additional employee training, and more inspections of the grid.
Dive Insight:
Earlier this summer, the California Public Uitlities Commission ordered SCE to conduct an "extraordinary" investigation of its electrical grid after a series of fires and explosions in undergound vaults caused several power outages in Long Beach.
The two reports — one from the company and the other from an independent consulting firm — found that, in addition to poor oversight, the company also failed to consistently update the network's maps, which were inaccurate.
The utility's "unique" electrical grid is powered by a loop of electrical lines with no centralized beginning or end; consequently, if a line fails, power can flow through other circuits. However, this meant repair was slow because SCE workers could only identify the cause through a trial-and-error process of switching lines on and off.
SCE has shelled out some $1.8 million for thousands of claims by residents and businesses filed since the outage, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reports. The city is also seeking $435,000 in damages, according to a claim filed in October.
The CPUC is conducting its own probe into the July incidents and said it will incorporate the reports into its own findings.