A complaint lodged by local emergency and community broadcast radio station KBU 99.1 over alleged violations by Southern California Edison (SCE) of the state’s public safety power shut-off (PSPS) rules has been accepted for filing, according to KBU station manager Hans Laetz.
The complaint, filed Nov. 26, 2019, alleges SCE violated the California Public Utility Commission’s rules surrounding so-called PSPS—or intentional blackouts—when it cut power to parts of Malibu from Oct. 30-31, 2019.
According to the complaint, the text of which was shared with The Malibu Times by Laetz, SCE “failed its transparency and disclosure obligations” following power restoration, as after-event reports allegedly did not provide details regarding the power outages on the Cuthbert circuit in Malibu.
“SCE has also failed its explicit duty to list why each of the blacked-out circuits could not be sectionalized and partially re-energized—why were underground wires in one part of Cuthbert not considered for re-energization ahead of overhead wires in windy locations?” the complaint read. “SCE has also failed its explicit duty to disclose what lessons it could learn from each Intentional Blackout (PSPS). And SCE has never disclosed the post-PSPS length of time between the start of re-energization and when power was fully restored, for any circuit.”
According to Laetz, the complaint, the text of which spanned eight pages, was accepted for filing on Jan. 16.