Frequently Asked Questions
What is a rotating outage?
A rotating outage is a temporary and scheduled electric outage conducted under utility control that lasts approximately one hour, depending on circumstances. A utility manages and rotates the outages to protect the integrity of the overall electric system, while ensuring that no customer is unduly inconvenienced. Totally unrelated circumstances (such as a car hitting a utility pole) might also interrupt power for customers in and outside the controlled outage areas.
Why would SCE need to resort to rotating outages?
Controlled, rotating outages can become necessary when the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) declares a statewide Stage 3 Emergency. Cal-ISO makes that declaration when the state's electricity reserves have fallen below 1.5% in real time or are unavoidable. Under this situation the Cal-ISO will typically order the state's investor-owned utilities, including SCE, to reduce electrical load immediately by a specific number of megawatts. A megawatt is the basic unit for measuring power generation. One megawatt is enough power to serve 500-1,000 homes at any given time. To reduce its load, SCE will initiate a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved rotating outage plan in which controlled service interruptions (of about one hour) are rotated among groups of customers throughout SCE's service territory. Without controlled, rotating power outages on a relatively small scale, a widespread disturbance to the electric grid could occur, which would lead to uncontrolled, large-scale outages.
How will I be notified about a Stage 3 Emergency declaration?
As soon as the Stage 3 Emergency is declared, we will contact the news media, especially radio and television stations, which are encouraged to broadcast the news immediately. We may have as few as 10 minutes after a Stage 3 Emergency is declared before we begin rotating outages. Obviously, that is not enough time to allow individual notifications for the affected customers. Customers can contact SCE at (800) 611-1911 to find out whether their neighborhood is part of a current controlled outage. We will use the media as much as possible to communicate with customers if a Stage 3 declaration is made.
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How does the rotation work?
SCE has identified the circuits available for use in rotating outages according to CPUC rules. A circuit is an overhead or underground electrical line that supplies power to a combination of residential and/or commercial customers within a given geographical area. These circuits have been arranged into groups. Each group includes a number of circuits that comprise approximately 100 megawatts of electricity usage per group, with each circuit generally serving between 800 and 2,000 customers. The amount of power Cal-ISO designates for curtailment will determine the number of groups that are interrupted at any one time (e.g., if Cal-ISO calls for 500 megawatts, we would interrupt service to about five groups). The groups will be interrupted, as operating conditions permit, and each outage is expected to last about one hour. At the end of the hour, service will be restored to the affected groups and the next groups on the list will be interrupted to maintain the amount of load requested by the ISO. Once a group has been used in a rotating outage, it is moved to the bottom of the list.
How are circuits selected?
Most of SCE's circuits are subject to these rotating outages. Under the CPUC's rules, only those circuits that serve specifically designated classes of customers who provide essential public health, safety, and security services (such as large hospitals and fire and police stations) are exempted from these outages. All remaining circuits are arranged into groups that represent all customer types (i.e., residential, commercial and industrial) and are dispersed throughout SCE's 50,000-square-mile service area.
Is there any way I can find out when I might be affected?
Your Rotating Outage Group is located on your Edison bill. Summary Bill customers will find this information in the "Details" portion of their bill. As soon as the Cal-ISO notifies Edison of a pending outage, we will post the information on our website. You may view the Rotating Outage Groups and determine if/when you might be affected.
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What is the difference between a "group" and a "block"?
Although they are often used interchangeably in the media, these terms have distinct meanings as used by SCE to refer to the curtailment of normal electrical service.
"Group" applies to Stage 3 emergencies when clusters of customers are subject to controlled rotating outages. Groups are circuits that have been arranged together into clusters of 50 to 100 megawatts of electricity. When a Stage 3 emergency is declared, the amount of power needed by the California ISO determines the number of rotating outage groups that must be curtailed. Rotating outage groups are designated with a letter and three numbers, for example, A001.
"Block" is used in relation to SCE's interruptible rate options for large commercial and industrial customers. Customers on these rates receive lower energy and demand charges in return for being interrupted at SCE's request. Interruptible customers are arranged into blocks representing approximately 200 megawatts of electricity. When a Stage 2 emergency is declared, the California Independent System Operator will direct SCE to curtail specific amounts of usage. Blocks are then interrupted to meet the load specified by the ISO. Blocks are designated with letters only.
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Why can't you get someone else's Rotating Outage Group?
To protect your privacy and safety we treat your Rotating Outage Group as confidential information. This practice makes it harder to perform illegal acts such as burglaries when your area is affected by a rotating outage.
For the same reason we cannot provide Rotating Outage Groups to you for other SCE customers. If you want to stay abreast of the rotating outage status of another SCE customer, such as a relative or your child's school, ask them for their Rotating Outage Group. It is up to them to decide whether or not to give their Rotating Outage Group out. If you do obtain the Rotating Outage Group, you can then determine their outage status through SCE.com or (800) 611-1911.
How long does a rotating outage last?
A rotating outage is a temporary electric outage conducted under utility control that lasts approximately one hour, depending on circumstances. A utility manages and rotates the outage to protect the integrity of the overall electric system, while ensuring that no customer is unduly inconvenienced.
If my group is the first one on the list, does that mean that I will always be the first one to lose power?
No. We track the order of the groups of circuits that have been interrupted and rotate among them to ensure that the same group will not always be first and that the impact to any one group is minimized. Once a customer group has been restored, it is placed at the end of the list.
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Could one customer's power be out, but a neighbor across the street still have electric service?
Yes. It's possible for neighbors to be on different circuits. Circuits do not necessarily align with streets, neighborhoods, or community boundaries. One street could easily be served by two different circuits. A circuit can serve up to 2,000 customers.
What should I do if my power is out for substantially more than an hour?
The first thing you should do is find out whether your neighbors have electrical service. If neighbors are also without power, call SCE emergency services at (800) 611-1911 and SCE will send a troubleman out to investigate. If the neighbors do have service, you might have an isolated electrical problem in your home or business.
Do I get a bill credit for having power cut off during a controlled outage?
No. The CPUC rules prohibit utilities from offering any discounts due to emergency situations, including rotating outages.
What about a person who requires life support (or other special medical equipment)? Will his/her power be shut off, too?
SCE cannot guarantee uninterrupted service to any customer. However, we do keep track of all customers who have applied for, and been certified as, "critical care" customers (those who cannot be without electric service for more than two hours) pursuant to SCE's Medical Baseline program.
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Could a controlled outage continue into the night?
Yes. It is possible that a controlled outage could occur during the night. A Stage 3 Emergency could occur at any time. We recognize the safety concerns posed by darkened streets and intersections and we encourage customers to be particularly careful during this time.
What can people do to stay safe during controlled outages?
- Minimize driving in an outage area, if at all possible. Anyone who must drive through a controlled outage area should be particularly careful at intersections controlled by traffic lights, since the lights may not be functioning. These intersections should be treated as four-way stops.
- Turn off all appliances, machinery and equipment in use when the power goes out. Leave one light on to indicate when the power has been restored. This will prevent injuries that could occur if machinery and equipment were to suddenly restart. It will also prevent circuits from overloading when power is restored.
Important Phone Numbers
- Medical Baseline information
call 1-800-684-8123
- Emergency Services
(such as Power Outages, Lines Down, Street Light Repairs)
call 1-800-611-1911
- Energy-Savings Programs
call 1-800-736-4777
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Key Terms to Know Regarding Outages
Cal-ISO Notifications
The California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO), the nonprofit agency that controls 75 percent of the state's transmission grid and secures power supplies for most of the state's consumers, continually monitors the state's electric system. When a significant imbalance between the supply and demand for electricity occurs, Cal-ISO may issue an Alert, a Warning or a Stage 1, 2, or 3 Emergency. The conditions for each level of notification are:
Alert
Cal-ISO informs SCE that operating reserves in the day-ahead market are forecasted at less than 7%, but plans to serve all customers unless loads are significantly higher or resources are lost.
Warning
Cal-ISO informs SCE that operating reserves in the hour-ahead market are forecasted at less than 7%, but plans to serve all customers unless loads are significantly higher or resources are lost.
Emergency Stage 1
Cal-ISO informs SCE that operating reserves are less than 7% in real time or are unavoidable. Consumers are urged to reduce their use of electricity voluntarily to avoid more severe conditions.
Emergency Stage 2
Cal-ISO informs SCE that operating reserves are less than 5 % in real time or are unavoidable. Cal-ISO can order SCE to curtail interruptible load ("voluntary interruptions"). If ordered to curtail interruptible load, SCE will implement CPUC-approved programs and tariffs in which customers have voluntarily agreed to have their service interrupted during such emergencies. These voluntary interruptions are intended to prevent more severe conditions.
Emergency Stage 3
Cal-ISO informs SCE that operating reserves are less than 1.5% in real time or are unavoidable. Cal-ISO can order SCE to curtail firm load ("involuntary interruptions"). If ordered to curtail firm load, SCE will implement CPUC-approved rotating outage plans in which controlled service interruptions (of about one hour) are rotated among groups of customers. These outages are intended to prevent more severe imbalance conditions, such as a total system collapse, and will be implemented until the Cal-ISO notifies SCE that the emergency has passed.
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