SCE Keeps Gambling With Lives After Eaton Fire and Regulators Step In

The LA Times reports State energy safety regulators escalated scrutiny of Southern California Edison after the leading Eaton Fire ignition theory focused on a long-idle transmission line in Eaton Canyon that last carried power in 1971, and after Edison told regulators it had no plans to remove any out-of-service lines through 2028. In response, the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety ordered Edison to assess fire risk across 355 miles of unused transmission lines in high fire-risk areas, identify which segments are most dangerous, and submit a plan to reduce that risk, including possible removal. Yet Edison continues to frame these risks as routine operational issues rather than taking clear responsibility for preventing future wildfires and eliminating known hazards before they ignite. Regulators say other California utilities will be required to take similar action on dormant lines so abandoned infrastructure doesn’t remain a wildfire hazard. A year after the Eaton Fire, SCE appears to have learned nothing—and is still willing to put lives, communities, and people’s livelihoods at risk. Read the full article here.