Edison Plans to Pull Plug on Outages

CAMARILLO —  Concerned about the frequent power failures striking Oxnard, Camarillo and Port Hueneme, Southern California Edison has agreed to spend $1 million to correct the problem.

After complaints from city officials, the electric company investigated and found there are 19 circuits in the Oxnard Plain with a much higher than average record of power failures. Five of those circuits are in Camarillo.

“It’s been a reoccurring problem for several years,” Camarillo City Manager Bill Little said. “Sometimes it gets worse and other times it gets better--but it’s always out there.”

Indeed, the frequent electrical failures--about a half a dozen in the past couple of months in Camarillo alone--have made residents weary over dealing with melted ice cream, missed television programs or, even worse, inoperable medical equipment and traffic signals.

Little met with Edison officials last week to let them know the frequent outages are not only a disruption to residents and businesses, but a threat to public safety as well.

Since Edison officials had also received complaints from Oxnard and Port Hueneme, they decided to conduct a study to determine if the problem can be pinpointed.

“I’ve experienced lack of power in the office and at home a couple of times this last month,” Oxnard City Councilman John Zaragoza said. “Edison officials attributed it to outdated equipment.”

Zaragoza, who prepares income tax returns, said he lost a client’s electronic income tax filing in one of the power failures.

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He said he is relieved to hear Edison will be correcting the problem because he has received several complaints from residents.

Edison officials will attend Wednesday’s Camarillo City Council meeting to answer questions and lay out the time frame for completing the project.

Part of the money will go toward replacing the 19 faulty circuits. Edison also plans to step up tree-trimming efforts and replace aging equipment to reduce the incidence of power failures.

Workers will continues to install special fuses on circuits to limit the areas affected by outages.

Also, about $250,000 of the $1 million will go toward fixing underground elbows, the connecting device between underground cables and a piece of underground equipment.

“We found that some of the components we installed years ago are susceptible to failure,” said Rudy Gonzales, Edison’s regional manager. “We’ll try to identify those and change them so they don’t cause these unplanned outages.”

Edison will also replace underground cable, redesign some existing circuits and relocate poles and wires to reduce accidents.

Gonzales said residents should start noticing changes in the next month or so, but that it will take up to a couple of years for the project to be completed.

Electrical failures, however, will occur while these problems are being straightened out, Gonzales said, adding that these power failures will be planned for times more convenient for residents and commercial customers.

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“We make every attempt to try to maintain our facility,” Gonzales said. “When we realize there are certain circumstances that require additional attention due to increased outages, we try to address those circuits and devote more time and dollars to them in hopes of improving reliability.”

Little hopes this time Edison will be able to resolve the problem.

“I’ve met with them over the years and from time to time have gotten them to undertake some limited steps,” Little said. “The difference this time is that they seemed to have looked at this in a more comprehensive manner and over a larger area than ever before.”

But if the problem is not dealt with “immediately and effectively,” Camarillo officials say they are prepared to take further action.

“We could go beyond the regional level here and deal with Edison corporate officers,” Little said. “Or we could initiate action at the state level with the Public Utilities Commission. We have several options.”