On Friday, April 4, beginning at 9 a.m., Southern California Edison plans to complete maintenance work in the Idyllwild area. SCE expects this work will take about three hours. And to complete the work safely, SCE will need to create an electrical outage during the period from 9 a.m. to noon, according to Jeremy Goldman, SCE regional manager for local public affairs.
Notifications to area residents have been sent out as well.
“SCE will be completing equipment upgrades at the Idyllwild Substation (all work is anticipated to take place inside the substation fence). This work will benefit all residents in the community,” said Goldman.
Power may be off for the whole period or may be turned off more than once. During the period, power may be off only in limited small areas rather than the entire service area at once. This planned outage may not begin exactly at the stated start time. Some conditions may cause this planned outage to be postponed.
“Planned power outages give us the opportunity to complete ongoing maintenance or upgrade the grid with newer materials and technologies,” an SCE notice explained. “This may be necessary to replace aging infrastructure, expand service to new customers, or to complete other needed improvements.”
To stay updated on the work this Friday, Goldman recommended that people can use its website at www.sce.com/outage and click on the outage map or call 1-800-611-1911.
SCE also has an app that can be downloaded to a mobile phone or tablet, providing a map of the outage area. This app also can be found at www.sce.com/outage.
SCE advises residents in outage areas to prepare for the event. For example, make sure emergency supplies are in an easily found place. Stock an outage kit with flashlights and batteries, a battery-operated radio, a manual can opener and canned food.
For more information about power outages, visit www.sce.com/outage. For more information on food safety, go to www.sce.com/foodsafety.
Other outage precautions
Other precautions, which SCE recommends, include shutting off or disconnecting all sensitive electronic equipment, such as computers, televisions and fax machines, before the outage begins. This will prevent loss of data and/or damage to equipment.This outage will affect alarm systems and may affect private phone systems. Alert security companies of this outage.
Anyone planning to operate an emergency generator is asked to notify SCE before the outage so it can protect SCE employees from possible electrical back-feed. To notify SCE of a generator, call 1-888-759-6056.
For business customers who do not have a generator, consider renting a portable one, if needed. SCE will not reimburse the cost.
Consider keeping at least one car at least half full with fuel. Gas stations need electricity to pump gas and will be shut down during an outage. SCE does not recommend stockpiling gasoline.
Be prepared to meet the special needs of infants, and elderly or disabled family members. Also plan how to care for any pets.
