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SCE outlines 2026 wildfire plan for Corona, warns PSPS could start earlier and affect more customers
Summary
Southern California Edison told Corona officials its 2026 wildfire mitigation strategy includes more covered conductor, targeted undergrounding and expanded real‑time detection; SCE warned public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) may come earlier and affect more circuits, and described customer supports including rebates and community resource centers.
Maddy Bogue, government relations manager for Southern California Edison, told the Corona City Council on Wednesday that the company’s 2026 wildfire mitigation plan emphasizes grid hardening and faster, data‑driven decisions about public safety power shutoffs (PSPS).
“PSPS is just one part of a broader wildfire mitigation strategy,” Bogue said, adding that SCE is replacing bare wire with covered conductor, installing fire‑resistant poles and targeting undergrounding where it reduces the most risk. In Corona, she said, 28 of the city’s 65 circuits could be impacted in a PSPS event, and SCE already has about 2.66 miles of new covered conductor planned or in progress.
The presentation warned that PSPS in 2026 “could happen earlier, occur more frequently, last longer, and does have the potential to affect more customers,” citing early weather indicators and recent extreme heat and fire activity. Bogue said the decision to shut off power is guided by real‑time weather and field data, with the intent of reducing wildfire risk and protecting communities.
Luis Lana, an outage‑management representative with SCE, outlined resources the company activates during PSPS events: an interactive outage map (sce.com/psps) showing affected polygons and community resource centers, mobile “community crew vehicles,” lodging and discount information during large events, and a critical‑care battery program. Lana said some customers qualify for rebates of up to $7,500 toward backup battery systems.
“We also have…a critical care battery backup program. It’s very much a subsidized program for those customers that need that support,” Lana said. He urged residents to confirm and update contact information so alerts go to the correct phone numbers or emails and recommended signing up for PSPS notifications even if someone is not the account holder.
Council members pressed SCE on outreach to residents who lack internet access or smartphones. Lana said the utility maintains two customer categories—“medical baseline” and “critical care”—and conducts annual outreach for those accounts; if electronic notifications fail, SCE will make a second attempt and may dispatch a field resource to perform a wellness check.
“If we can’t still get a hold of them, we will literally trigger a field resource to conduct a wellness check on that customer,” Lana said.
Officials also asked about timing for grid hardening on a local circuit that has experienced frequent outages. Bogue said SCE plans to fully cover or underground that circuit by 2028, and to install REFCL (rapid earth fault current limiting) upgrades by 2027 to improve resiliency.
Public commenters raised practical concerns about PSPS preparedness for people living in mobile‑home parks and for elderly residents who rely on landlines or flip phones; council members asked SCE to follow up on how account structures and communications work for primary‑metered mobile‑home parks.
The council did not take action on the presentation. SCE said its online outage map and customer resource listings are available to the public and that staff and the utility will continue to answer specific resident questions and follow up on mobile‑home meter issues.
