Today, Southern California Edison issued the following response
to the report by the Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD) and CAL
FIRE on the causes of the Koenigstein Fire:
We keep in our thoughts all those who have been affected by
wildfires. The devastating loss of lives, homes and businesses is
tragic, and SCE will continue to provide assistance and support to
those affected by wildfires. The safety of our customers, our
employees and our communities remains our most important focus.
SCE believes evidence shows there were at least two separate
ignitions on Dec. 4, 2017, that led to two fires that together have
been commonly referred to as the Thomas Fire — one in the Anlauf
Canyon area of Ventura County and another near Koenigstein Road in
the city of Santa Paula. VCFD and CAL FIRE refer to the Anlauf
Canyon ignition as the “Thomas Fire” and Koenigstein Road ignition
as the “Koenigstein Fire.”
In a report released today, VCFD and CAL FIRE found SCE
equipment contributed to the ignition near Koenigstein Road. The
company previously disclosed in October 2018 that witnesses
reported that a fire ignited along Koenigstein Road near an SCE
power pole, and that SCE believed its equipment was associated with
this ignition.
SCE fully and actively cooperated with fire officials throughout
their investigation.
SCE will not be able to determine the specific causes of the
Koenigstein Fire until it can analyze equipment currently in CAL
FIRE’s possession, and other evidence that is described in the
report, and completes its internal review.
SCE is continuing to analyze the progression of the Koenigstein
Fire and the extent of damages that may be attributable to it. As
recently noted in our March 13 press release, SCE has not
determined whether the ignition at Anlauf Canyon involved SCE
equipment, and SCE has evidence that the ignition at Anlauf Canyon
started at least 12 minutes prior to any issue involving SCE’s
system and at least 15 minutes prior to the start time indicated by
VCFD in its report. SCE believes the Anlauf Canyon ignition may
have been independently responsible for a significant portion of
the resulting damages.
We underscore that any investigative findings do not provide a
final resolution as to cause or responsibility. The courts
will need to make that determination after a full review of all the
evidence. SCE also is not aware of any basis for criminal
liability.
Comprehensive Policies Still Needed to Address Growing Threat
of Wildfires
With the increasingly serious, ever-growing wildfire threat to
California, it is unmistakably clear that further urgent work is
needed to develop thoughtful, comprehensive policies to address
this statewide problem. SCE strongly supports the increased funding
for fire suppression and improved forest and land use management
policies included in 2018’s Senate Bill 901 (Dodd, D-Napa). While
the state legislature has taken an initial step to mitigate
wildfire risks through the passage of SB 901, much more is urgently
needed to address the critical issues of fire prevention, enhanced
suppression efforts and fair cost allocation rules.
In comments filed with the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC), SCE recommended that the CPUC establish a clear,
durable and repeatable process for assessing the prudency of
utility wildfire operations and enabling timely recovery of
prudently incurred, wildfire-related expenses. The wildfire
mitigation plans that SCE and the state’s other investor-owned
utilities are required to file at the CPUC under SB 901 should be
the basis for this process. These plans identify specific and
measurable wildfire mitigation activities to be undertaken, and SB
901 includes a process for the CPUC to review compliance with these
plans. SCE asked the CPUC to deem that a utility has acted
prudently for purposes of cost recovery if it is found to have
substantially complied with its plan. If a utility has not
substantially complied with its plan and that non-compliance is a
direct cause of a wildfire, costs denied should be proportionate to
the utility’s misconduct and take into consideration other factors
contributing to the wildfire and its damages.
SCE’s Efforts at Managing the Wildfire Threat in
California
SCE has long taken substantial steps to reduce the risk of
wildfires in its service area, including employing robust design
and construction standards, vegetation management activities and
operational practices.
On Feb. 6, SCE filed its proposed 2019 Wildfire
Mitigation Plan, the first of what will be an annual
submission. The plan is intended to address and greatly reduce fire
ignitions caused by utility infrastructure. It also is intended to
further fortify the electric system against the increasing threat
of extreme conditions driven by climate change and the impacts of
wildfires if they occur. About 35 percent of SCE’s service area is
located in high fire risk areas.
The plan takes a broad approach that includes enhanced
inspections on all of the company’s overhead power lines in high
fire risk areas in the immediate term to identify and remediate
potential issues outside of standard inspection cycles. It will
further harden infrastructure, bolster situational awareness
capabilities, enhance operational practices and harness the power
of data and technology.
About Southern California Edison
An Edison International (NYSE:EIX) company, Southern California
Edison is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities, serving a
population of approximately 15 million via 5 million customer
accounts in a 50,000-square-mile service area within Central,
Coastal and Southern California.
Safe Harbor Statement for Investors
Statements contained in this press release about the Thomas
Fire, and other statements that do not directly relate to a
historical or current fact, are forward-looking statements. In this
press release, the words "believes," "continuing to," "predict,"
"plan," "may," "will," and variations of such words and similar
expressions, or discussions of strategy, plans or actions, are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements
reflect our current expectations; however, such statements
necessarily involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could
differ materially from current expectations. Important factors that
could cause different results include the timing and outcome of the
investigations and internal review of the Thomas Fire. Other
important factors are discussed in Southern California Edison’s
Form 10-K and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, which are available on our
website: edisoninvestor.com.
Edison International and Southern California Edison Company have
no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether due to new information, future events, or
otherwise.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190320005877/en/
Media Contact: Brian Leventhal, (626) 302-2255Investor Relations
Contact: Sam Ramraj, (626) 302-2540
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