Talk about power

Jennifer Kho

COSTA MESA -- The latest round of rolling blackouts have made the

power crisis again a common topic in many households, but energy talk has

been a regular conversation piece for years in City Manager Allan

Roeder’s home.

Roeder has been married for more than four years to his wife,

Christie, a deputy director of Southern California Edison’s public

affairs department.

“It’s such a complex subject, all the way from the federal government

level, literally, to the local community, so it’s difficult for anyone at

any given level to have a good understanding of how all the pieces fit

together,” Roeder said. “We have the opportunity to talk about the many

different aspects of it from both sides.”

Even before they were married, the two realized their jobs would

occasionally cross paths.

About five years ago, they were together when they both received calls

about a transformer fire at South Coast Plaza.

Roeder’s call was from the Fire Department. His wife’s call was from

Edison.

They drove out to the scene together, Roeder recalled.

“Sometimes I still go out to calls with her,” he said. “It really is

kind of a family thing. We do disasters together. We still often get

calls at the same time. I don’t think we ever thought that we would have

the working end of life quite this much in common. But there are things

we normally do from day to day that really help both of us do a better

job.”

The connection between the Roeders has helped to improve

communications between the city and Edison.

“If we’re doing widening or roadway improvements and have conflicts

with Edison, it helps for us to get that information and say, ‘It looks

like we’re having trouble with poles on Baker Street. Could you give your

workmen a heads up?’ It improves the working relationship. Especially

with the noticing we need in advance for rolling blackouts, I think it

has been beneficial to Edison because they have a better understanding of

what cities need, and it has also been beneficial to us to better

understand the whole scheme of things.”

Roeder said his wife is good about sending him e-mail updates about

the energy situation and any new legislation information that could

affect the city.

Sometimes, he said, he gets credit for Edison’s good service, such as

when a transformer gets replaced quickly, even though he really has

nothing to do with it.

But sometimes the pair “takes the heat” for other things they have

nothing to do with, Roeder said.

“Yes, our electricity goes out like everybody else’s,” he said. “But

often we hear from the neighbors because they know my wife works for

Edison. They call us and say, ‘Hey, our power is out, can you do

something about this?”’