“It’s big and it’s gnarly.” That is how Vince Cichoski, Southern California Edison Planning manager, describes the massive undertaking of targeted undergrounding.

He and his team have been walking, driving and surveying about 15 miles of electrical infrastructure in the Santa Monica Mountains, one of the most fire-prone regions in SCE’s service area, searching for a way to combat wildfire risk as part of the company’s targeted undergrounding program.

“Basically, what we’re looking at now are places that are susceptible to wildfire, and we’re doing everything we can to mitigate those areas,” said Robert Flannery, an SCE manager in Planning. “One of our programs is the targeted undergrounding initiative, where we’re looking at areas where we can take overhead facilities and high-voltage lines and find new pathways for equipment and underground cable via vaults and other structures.”

In the case of a wildfire, this underground work will help mitigate electrical distribution concerns from fallen power poles and downed power lines.

The project has its challenges: terrain, environment and real estate.

“With overhead wire, we can traverse mountains; we can’t do the same thing underground. We have to stick to existing roadways or build new pathways to go through while taking into consideration what’s already physically underground,” Flannery said.

Many times, storm drains, gas lines, water lines or communications equipment occupy the limited available real estate beneath SCE’s 50,000-square-mile service area.

The first step of any targeted undergrounding project is working with other utilities and government agencies to compile a survey map outlining the hurdles that exist in the ground. That knowledge allows SCE planners to create a design showing where facilities might fit. The design phase lasts about 18 months not counting the additional time for permitting and construction.

But even if space allows it, planners then need to consider easements and environmental policies.

“Easements can often be our biggest hurdle,” Flannery said.

Sometimes, the only feasible path hinges on a working relationship with property owners. Without permission to enter, SCE crews may be unable to underground stretches of infrastructure servicing entire neighborhoods.

“We totally understand the impact this project has on our customers and the residents of the areas we are surveying, but we hope they can understand that the whole purpose of this is to keep the community safe,” Flannery said.

The area SCE’s team is now surveying was identified as a candidate for undergrounding because it has endured wildfires over the past several years. It sits in a mountainous pocket of topography with serious egress issues, making it dangerous for firefighters to protect.

“Our wildfire mitigation efforts, including targeted undergrounding, always means putting our customers and the communities we serve top of mind. With about one-quarter of SCE’s service area in high fire risk areas, we prioritize hardening the grid in the communities most at risk,” said Ray Fugere, SCE director of Wildfire Safety.

For some projects, based on feasibility, only portions of the overall surveyed area may be approved for undergrounding.

Even in areas where undergrounding is an option, poles that have been shortened will often remain standing because many times, communication lines and SCE’s infrastructure share utility poles.

“If we’re not able to take primary conductor out of the air, we will make efforts to replace existing primary bare wire with covered conductor to help harden the grid in these sensitive sections,” said Flannery.

Covered conductor is wire with a protective coating that helps reduce the likelihood of equipment igniting a fire when objects come into contact with the energized portion of the wire.

“Both mitigation efforts help SCE continue safely delivering reliable power while addressing climate risk and strengthening the grid,” said Fugere.

For more information on SCE’s targeted undergrounding efforts, visit sce.com/tug.
For more information on SCE’s wildfire mitigation efforts, visit edison.com/wildfiresafety.