Season's First Rainfall May Increase Outage Risk

As a Southern Californian, you know that the first rains of the season result in potentially unsafe driving conditions brought on by the surfacing of months of built-up oil and exhaust particles on the roads.

What you may not know is that, due to a similar build-up of particles, the first rain of the season can also impact your electrical service, creating the potential for equipment problems that may result in power outages in your community.

As a result, even when the first rainfall of the season is predicted to be light, SCE crews will prepare for these first rain events as they would for a more severe storm event. This level of heightened preparedness will ensure that if there are outages caused by the first rainfall of the season, crews will be at the ready to respond and restore power as quickly and safely as possible.

Please note that fresh rainfall may also hasten growth of trees so this is a good time for customers to be aware of branches that may be encroaching upon, or growing into, power lines.

If you identify tree branches growing into lines, please do not attempt to prune the branches yourself; it is not safe to try to prune your trees yourself. We would ask you to report trees growing into or near power lines by calling SCE at 1-800-655-4555.