Over the next two to three years, Southern California Edison (SCE) will replace 70,00-105,000 power poles throughout the State of California, including many throughout Malibu and the surrounding area.
The pole replacement project, which is really just an increase in rate from the cyclical replacement of power poles in order to meet updated safety standards, is already underway.
“Starting in summer 2015, SCE will be replacing poles at a much higher rate than normal within the City of Malibu and nearby unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County,” a statement on the SCE website read. “These are poles that need to be upgraded to meet current safety standards of the California Public Utilities Commission.”
Work hours in the City of Malibu are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. In nearby unincorporated L.A. County, work hours are weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Though many of the pole replacements will call for temporary planned power outages to certain streets and neighborhoods, SCE has pledged 72 hour advanced warning.
“Not every pole replacement requires an outage,” SCE spokesperson Diane Forte added.
A map of the project shows the area affected by the pole replacement project: all of Malibu and the surrounding area, with Mulholland Drive forming the boundary of the pole replacement project to the west and north and Topanga Canyon Boulevard forming the border to the east.
In the past, power poles in Malibu have been criticized for being overloaded and structurally unsound, an issue compounded by the fact that Malibu’s location by the water can have an eroding effect on wooden poles and electrical wires.
According to SCE estimates in September 2014, during the initial assessment of the Malibu sector, pole replacements in the area could number in the hundreds.
In September, SCE spokesperson Mark Olsen told The Malibu Times that pole replacements would be triaged, with poles deemed unsafe being replaced immediately.
With the project now underway, according to SCE spokesperson Diane Forte, engineers “anticipate most of the pole replacement work to take place over the next two to three years.”
“The Malibu Pole Replacement Program is underway as part of our upgrade of the system to meet current safety standards of the California Public Utilities Commission. This work will help SCE keep the power grid modern and up to date for the City and greater Malibu area,” a statement provided by SCE read.
Hans Laetz, general manager of local radio station KBU, has spent years monitoring power issues throughout Malibu. According to Laetz, the updated safety standards so far are designed for areas that are not considered to be in “fire risk districts.”
A SCE meeting on Sept. 9 will focus on regulations for areas in higher risk of fires, which may or may not include Malibu — the map charting high fire risk areas has not been published yet.
“We’re going to find out where we are on the new electrical rules and mechnical rules in high fire risk areas,” Laetz said.
Pole replacements on Malibu Canyon
While the SCE pole replacement project is well underway, pole replacements on Malibu Canyon Road have yet to begin.
After a 2007 fire that caused up to $500 million in damage and burned 36 vehicles and 14 structures in the Malibu Canyon area was found to have begun after three overloaded power poles were knocked over in Santa Ana winds, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and AT&T agreed to pay the state $4 million to replace 53 poles.
In December 2014, Verizon, the plaintiff in the case that is in charge of that replacement, requested a 30-month extension on the project, which was originally intended to be completed by March of this year.
Since that time, said Laetz, no news has come out regarding that project, which as of December, is expected to last until April 2017.