SoCal Edison considers thousands of public safety power shutoffs as heightened heat risk continues
Southern California Edison is considering thousands of public safety power shutoffs across the region as the heightened heat risk continues to pose danger.
The National Weather Service is warning that a high-pressure system will bring "very hot conditions," which could also increase the risk of fast-moving fires. Temperatures in inland communities are expected to be in triple digits.
CBS LA Chief Meteorologist Paul Deanno said that, for the first time since 1885, LA will see three consecutive August days with high temperatures surpassing 100.
Scott Johnson, the principal manager of media relations, said a public safety power shutoff, or PSPS, is when the power is temporarily turned off to help reduce the risk of wildfire. He said a PSPS is determined by several factors, including strong winds, dry vegetation and low humidity.
"Between now and Thursday, there are approximately 5,000 customers who have been notified that they could result in having their power deactivated as a result of a public safety power shutoff and those are in the counties of Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, and Santa Barbara counties."
Public safety power shutoffs being considered, as of Tuesday afternoon:
- Inyo County: 304 customers
- Los Angeles County: 3,938 customers
- Mono County: 111 customers
- Santa Barbara County: 1,324 customers
Use this link to see a SoCal Edison outage map.
Johnson said that during a PSPS, SoCal Edison offers community resource centers where residents can cool off, and it also deploys community crew vehicles to assist affected residents. He added that customers can apply for rebates on portable generators and portable power stations.
"For this public safety power shutoff time period, we began notifying customers already on Saturday," Johnson said. "Some recommendations that we have are to make certain that they have all of their chargers and batteries already powered up and certainly have a flashlight if the power is shut off during the evening."
Johnson explained that in 2026 PSPSs might happen more frequently, last longer and impact more customers "largely due to expected wind speeds and the relatively low humidity and the dry vegetation."
"There really is nothing more important than protecting the communities we serve and public safety power shutoffs are an important tool in keeping people safe," Johnson said.
