Daniel Barona and his team have installed wildfire mitigation equipment for Southern California Edison in Ventura County for years. He knows firsthand that some customers have noticed their electric service is much more reliable during Santa Ana wind events due to this work.

“We are the face of the company and talk with customers who aren’t happy about having their power shut off during a dangerous weather event,” said Barona, an SCE field supervisor. “After we install coated electrical wire, it feels good to tell them that the possibility of their power being turned off again has been significantly reduced. This usually puts a smile on their face.”

Barona has been with SCE for 17 years and understands how difficult it can be not to have power during a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) event.

“The frustrations from customers are real and deserved. I know being without power feels unfair and wrong, but losing everything you have in a fire would feel worse,” he said.

SCE continues to reduce that burden on customers still experiencing PSPS in high fire risk areas that make up 27% of the company’s service area. In fact, SCE exceeded its Wildfire Mitigation Plan target and installed about 5,600 circuit miles of coated electrical wire within the last five years. An additional 1,050 circuit miles will be installed this year, about the same distance as traveling from Los Angeles to Seattle.

The company also plans to relocate up to 600 miles of overhead distribution lines underground in high fire risk areas by the end of 2028 to continue reducing the threat of wildfires, particularly in communities where power lines have not been replaced with coated electrical wire.

“Enhanced vegetation management, regular inspections of our equipment, and upgrades like coated electrical wire and other technology are making the grid safer,” said Jill Anderson, executive vice president and chief operating officer. “SCE achieved an 85 to 88% reduction in catastrophic wildfire risk compared to pre-2018 levels. We remain committed to reduce the wildfire threat even further.”

That significant reduction in wildfire risk was achieved after years of hardening the grid and the approval of SCE’s 2023-2025 Wildfire Mitigation Plan by the California Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety last October. The plan focuses on building on the work already accomplished, such as continuing to harden the grid, ramping up targeted undergrounding work in severe risk areas, reducing PSPS events even further, year-round aerial fire suppression and technological advancements.

The company filed its Wildfire Mitigation Plan 2025 update April 2. By the end of next year, SCE will be approaching a significant milestone — 90% of its total distribution power lines are expected to be hardened in high fire risk areas.

“We are working as quickly as safety allows in high fire risk areas to install wildfire mitigation equipment,” Barona said. “For some customers, it may feel like PSPS is happening too often, but rest assured, we will be doing work in your community, we are on our way.”

For more information on SCE’s wildfire mitigation efforts, visit sce.com/wildfire.