Powering Up: Updates on Sunset Mesa’s Electrical Infrastructure
Members of the SMPOA Board recently met with representatives from Southern California Edison (SCE) to discuss the current status and future of power in our community. If you have noticed new equipment appearing on our streets, you aren’t alone. We’ve gathered the following information to help explain these upgrades and provide you with the resources you need for your home and any ongoing projects.
Modernizing Our Underground Grid
While one of the premier benefits of living in Sunset Mesa is our underground utilities—free from the overhead lines seen along PCH—much of that below-street infrastructure has become quite old.
Following the Palisades Fire, Edison engineers immediately inspected our lines and transformers. They discovered that while some equipment was damaged by the fire, much of it simply lacked the capacity and reliability required to serve the hundreds of new homes that will be built in our area. Read more.
Key Upgrades & Benefits
Cost Savings: Typically, updating local infrastructure results in direct surcharges for customers. However, according to SCE, because these upgrades are being made following an emergency designation, they are replacing a significant amount of old equipment without passing those costs onto residents.
Green Transformer Boxes: You will notice new green, pad-mounted transformer boxes being installed on sidewalks. Each of these transformers serves roughly a dozen homes and eventually there will be about 40 of them installed over the course of the next 18 – 24 months.
Enhanced Reliability: These new transformers provide greater throughput and are safer and easier for crews to maintain than the old underground versions.
Better Redundancy: SCE is burying power lines along PCH from downtown Malibu and also hooking Sunset Mesa up to power coming from the Valley through Topanga. This will provide us with much-needed redundancy if there is a problem in Malibu.
Note on Outages: When a new transformer box is activated, power will be paused for several hours for the specific homes it serves. In addition, over the next several years, the situation with power outages will be similar to what occurred prior to the fire. However, we have been assured that in the future, all of the infrastructure upgrades will result in fewer power outages.
SCE will continue to mail notifications of planned outages to their customers; however, these letters often do not reach homeowners in time. The best way to ensure advanced notice of these planned outages, please ensure your email notifications are up to date on your Edison account.
Alert Preferences: Update your contact info at sce.com/customer-service/my-account/alerts-preferences.
Resources for Residents & Contractors
If you are currently renovating or applying for permits, please use the following contact methods and links provided by SCE:
Account & Project PlanningBuilding & Renovation Portal: For project planning and online service requests, visit sce.com/residential/building-renovation.
Permit Support: Residents impacted by the Eaton and Palisades fires can obtain required SCE Service Request Confirmation Numbers by calling (800) 250-7339.
Outages & Emergencies
Report an Issue: Use the SCE Outage Center to report power or streetlight problems.
Emergency Hotline: For immediate hazards or outages, call (800) 611-1911.
Disaster Recovery: Visit the Malibu Resource Page for specific local recovery updates.