| By: Jeff Gorell, Chair of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors
Ventura County residents should not have to choose between wildfire safety and reliable electricity. Southern California Edison’s (SCE) Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) have left families, businesses, and entire communities facing prolonged outages, often with little certainty about when power will be restored.
While preventing wildfires must remain a top priority, the frequency, duration, and disruption of these shutoffs demand greater accountability. That is why I have made it a priority to challenge SCE, secure meaningful improvements, and advocate for long-term solutions that better protect our communities.
Public Safety Power Shutoffs emerged in response to devastating wildfires and substantial lawsuits against electric utilities. California’s regulatory framework allows utilities to proactively de-energize power lines during dangerous weather conditions to reduce wildfire ignition risks. While these shutoffs can prevent catastrophic fires, their widespread use has created serious challenges for our communities.
One common misconception is that under grounding power lines eliminates the possibility of shutoffs. Under grounding offers significant benefits for reliability, wildfire risk reduction, and neighborhood aesthetics, but it does not guarantee uninterrupted electricity. Underground lines may still depend on aboveground or sensitive infrastructure elsewhere in the local circuit, and therefore the entire circuit would be subject to PSPS, even neighborhoods with underground power.
Following widespread outages in January 2025, I directly engaged SCE leadership to demand improvements in restoration times, communication, and coordination with local emergency officials. Our advocacy has produced meaningful concessions from Edison. SCE agreed to assign an employee to Ventura County’s Operational Area Emergency Operations Center during emergencies, improving direct communication and coordination with local public safety agencies. The utility has also improved its public communications and outage mapping tools, helping residents better understand which communities may be affected. They have also brought in a very forward leaning local representative, Ian Anderson, who has been engaged and responsive to residents.
Importantly, Edison has committed to faster re-energization following shutoffs, recognizing the tremendous hardship extended outages create for residents and businesses.These improvements did not happen on their own. They resulted from persistent engagement, direct conversations, and our insistence that Ventura County residents deserve better. |
