Regulators criticized Edison's wildfire safety actions months before deadly Eaton fire

Los Angeles Times ^ | Jan. 14, 2025 12:33 PM PT | Melody Petersen and Jenny Jarvie

[E. Pluribus Unum]

• Less than three months before the Eaton fire, state utility safety regulators questioned whether Southern California Edison’s repairs to its aging transmission lines were holding up.

• The utility’s visual inspections of splices in its transmission lines sometimes failed to find dangerous conditions, officials found.

• The company says its work has reduced the risk that its equipment might cause wildfires by more than 85%. It said its own analysis showed its equipment didn’t start the Eaton fire.

  State regulators criticized Southern California Edison for falling behind in inspecting transmission lines in areas at high risk of wildfires just months before the deadly Eaton fire, according to state documents.

  Utility safety officials also said the company’s visual inspections of splices in its transmission lines were sometimes failing to find dangerous problems, according to their October report. Instead, those problems were not discovered until the company inspected the lines with X-ray equipment, which is far less frequently used.

  The report by the California Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety was issued less than three months before devastating wildfires broke out in Los Angeles County last week. Fire investigators say they are looking into whether the company’s electrical equipment was involved in starting the Eaton fire, which has killed at least 17 people and destroyed thousands of homes and other structures.

  Edison said its work to mitigate wildfires had reduced the risk of catastrophic fires by 85% to 90% compared with the risk before 2018.

  “As we have been doing, SCE will continue to perform inspections in its high fire risk areas more frequently than is required,” the company said in statement to The Times.

  Four lawsuits were filed this week accusing Southern California Edison of sparking the Eaton fire. The company says its reviewing the lawsuits. It said earlier that its analysis showed its equipment didn’t...

[captmar-vell]

Democrats getting their narrative out before Californians realize they have an do nothing Marxist Mayor and corrupt NWO tool Governor.

Maybe they’ll ask for AI managed 15 minute cities and Klaus Schwab approved planning.

[wjcsux]

The blame game is just getting started.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

First, they look around for who has the deepest pockets.

Second, they now have figured out where to place the blame.

[Leaning Right]

> Democrats getting their narrative out… <

Right. It is both traditional and correct that a captain is ultimately responsible for everything that happens on his ship. Same goes with a governor and his state, and a mayor and his city.

Harry Truman summed it up perfectly: “The buck stops here.”

But that’s outdated thinking as far as today’s Democrats (and their media allies) are concerned. Quick! Blame someone else! Anyone else!

[Rowdyone]

Democratic deep-seated complex looking for deep pockets to blame and fund rebuilding. So obvious.

[captmar-vell]

We’re in an evil time friend.

[GranTorino]

They will sue the oil industry for the fires citing “climate change” as the cause.
If successful the rest of us will suffer.
I am about sick of California government.