Southern California Edison (SCE) has announced a comprehensive rebuilding initiative aimed at enhancing wildfire resilience in Altadena and Malibu, following the January wildfires in California. The plan includes undergrounding 153 circuit miles of electrical distribution lines and upgrading infrastructure to support grid reliability, clean energy adoption, and future demand.

According to Pedro J. Pizarro, President and CEO of Edison International, the parent company of SCE, the company will focus on rebuilding stronger and safer, using advanced technologies to mitigate wildfire risk. The initiative is expected to cost between $860 million and $925 million.

Undergrounding will cover 130 circuit miles in high fire risk areas and an additional 23 miles in non-HFRA zones. An extra 19 miles in Altadena are currently under evaluation. Portions of the power grid that are not undergrounded will be reinforced with covered conductors.

The plan also includes upgrades to increase distribution capacity--such as boosting voltage in west Altadena from 4kV to 16kV--and the integration of smart grid technologies. These measures aim to improve outage response times and system reliability.

Steven Powell, President and CEO of SCE, stated the rebuild is rooted in community engagement, with more than 50 public sessions held since January. SCE is also working with local and state agencies to coordinate civil works, reduce costs, and access federal and philanthropic funding.

An investigation is ongoing into the potential role of SCE equipment in the Eaton Fire.

Source: smart-energy.com