The power outage that left about 5,000 customers in Manhattan Beach without power on July 12 was caused by an equipment failure, Southern California Edison Region Manager Scott Gobble said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
The malfunction occurred when Edison technicians were working to restore an outage that affected about 1,800 customers on and near Second Street caused by a metallic balloon, Gobble said.
About a year and a half ago, Edison installed a new piece of equipment – an automated switch that operates remotely that helps restore power quickly and safely, Gobble said.
But that July morning, when technicians finished the work and the switch at 10th Street and Sepulveda was closed, the equipment failed. “When we tried to close the switch when we had cleared up the problem, it was contaminated,” he said. “It failed.”
Subsequently, the main source of power to an Edison substation was cut, leaving 5,000 customers citywide without power.
Gobble said the malfunction was due to corroded material, which he suspects was caused by the coastal environment. He added that Edison is investigating the same equipment installed in other coastal areas to see if there’s a trend, although the Manhattan Beach incident was the first and only problem thus far.
“We’re finding some of this equipment does not do well in salt air,” Gobble said. “There are other pieces of equipment we’re going to be able to try in Redondo, Hermosa and Manhattan Beach to see if they will work better.”
The company is now looking to replace the plastic components of the switch to stainless steel. “We will be replacing different components over time,” Gobble said. “We’ve got to get a plan in place.”
For more information or to report a power outage, call Edison at 800-655-4555 or 800-319-8765.
