Edison hopes to have power back to normal next week

By Michael Picarella pic@theacorn.com

A recent equipment failure at the Southern California Edison power substation in Moorpark triggered an emergency outage plan that’s been causing rolling blackouts in the surrounding communities, but the substation should be able to deliver its regular volume of power within the next week, according to Gil Alexander, Edison spokesperson.

SCE, which services Moorpark, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village and Calabasas, received replacements for one of the two transformers that recently failed, and crews are working around the clock to replace it, Alexander said. The two transformers, which are large electrical components that convert higher voltages to levels used by homes and businesses, work alongside a third unit at the Moorpark substation.

"Once we get the first of the two transformers replaced, we’ll be back to full capacity," Alexander said. "(The Moorpark) substation, as with the entire grid that we manage in 11 counties in Southern California, has backup and reserve (power) built into it. We could’ve sustained the loss of one transformer and no customers would’ve ever known it while we replaced that one. The problem occurred when we had two of them fail within three days of each other."

The second transformer is on its way to Moorpark, Alexander said, but SCE doesn’t know the arrival date or when it will be back on line.

Until both transformers are replaced, the substation remains in a weakened condition, he said.

"The equipment failure that the substation sustained was substantial, and so we’re concerned about the predictions of high temperatures this week," Alexander said.

"We deeply regret the inconvenience this unusual equipment failure will cause our customers," said Larry Grant, SCE’s vice president of power delivery. "Edison crews are working around the clock to resolve this problem."

SCE encourages its customers to reduce their heavy-appliance consumption during the afternoons. Peak hours to save electrical equipment are noon to about 7 p.m., with the highest energy-use period at around 4 p.m.

Until the first transformer is replaced, SCE will also continue to implement a controlled outage plan in which the company de-energizes the circuits in various areas for about one hour, thereby reducing the overall demand for power. When service is restored, a different set of circuits is taken down.

SCE and the equipment manufacturer are investiging the cause of the malfunction.

"It will be some time before the investigation into the equipment failure is complete," Alexander said.