Media Contact: Paul Netter, (626) 302-2255

ROSEMEAD, Calif., Sept. 17, 2014 — As the heat wave continues and around-the-clock electricity usage reaches year-to-date records, Southern California Edison (SCE) continues to urge customers to conserve as much as possible to assist its system which has withstood the high demand.

SCE has canceled many maintenance outages to ensure resources will be available to move quickly to complete repairs and restore power as quickly and safely as possible during repair outages. Priority restoration service is being given to customers who have been without electrical service the longest.

With continuous usage during the heat, SCE has seen equipment failure and additional power outages across its service territory. Since Saturday, the utility has replaced 369 transformers, far fewer than in two past heat waves. SCE replaced 1,755 transformers during the Labor Day 2007 heat wave and 1,312 during the July 2006 heat wave.

“Our system has been challenged over the past five days,” said Paul Grigaux, SCE’s vice president of Transmission, Substations and Operations. “We want to continue to encourage our customers to conserve whenever possible. We thank them for their patience as Southern California Edison crews work day and night to restore power as quickly and safely as possible.”

SCE’s year-to-date peak consumption of 23,055 megawatts was reached on Monday and its all-time weekday peak is 23,303 megawatts on Aug. 31, 2007. The National Weather Service, however, is predicting the heat wave conditions could end Thursday.

During the heat wave, SCE also has activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Irwindale and it will remain activated for the duration of this event. The center operates as a centralized coordination point of communications for a number of activities related to the event, including notably: monitoring the grid, coordinating and deploying resources, checking weather patterns and focusing on the safety of customers and crews. 

To keep from stretching its resources, SCE urges customers to conserve by reducing their electricity use between noon-6 p.m. — the hours of peak energy use — and to employ efficiency measures such as setting their thermostats to 78 degrees or higher and turning off the lights when possible to lessen strains on power supplies and decrease the possibility of outages.

Some tips to conserve energy include:

  • Using electric fans instead of air conditioning when practical.
  • Turning off unused appliances and equipment.
  • Avoiding operating energy-intensive appliances late morning through the evening hours.
  • Limiting how often you open your refrigerator door. 

For more energy-conserving tips and programs, including the Save Power Day program, visit: on.sce.com/tips.

About Southern California Edison

An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a population of nearly 14 million via 4.9 million customer accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central, Coastal and Southern California.