Rotating Outage
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View OutagesWhat is a Rotating Outage?
While rare, rotating outages are controlled power outages enacted during a statewide Energy Emergency Alert Level 3 (EEA 3) to help ease demand on the overall electrical grid to prevent larger, longer power outages.
Typically lasting one hour, rotating outages are imposed sequentially across groups of customers throughout the service territory to protect the integrity of our electric system, which limits the inconvenience to any one customer or community.
Visit our Outage Map to see if power in your neighborhood is shut off due to a rotating outage or is under consideration for one.
Is Your Group Affected by the Rotating Outage?
System Status: Normal
There are no rotating outages at this time.
View Past Rotating Outages Groups
Past Rotating Outage Groups
Below are the customer groups that were affected by a past California Independent System Operator (CAISO) rotating outage. Power has been restored to all groups.
| Rotating Outage Group | Details |
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Who Calls a Rotating Outage?
When the state's power reserves reach critically low levels, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) may declare an Energy Emergency Alert Level 3 (EEA 3) ordering the state's investor-owned utilities, including SCE, to reduce electrical load by turning off service immediately.
SCE may have less than 10 minutes before we must begin rotating outages, which is not enough time to provide individual notifications to affected customers. We rely on the news media for help, especially radio and television stations, by asking them to broadcast news of the rotating outage immediately. You can also check online at sce.com/outage, or call us at 1-800-611-1911 to find out whether you will be affected.
When power is restored, our online Outage Map will reflect it.
Preparing for a Rotating Outage
It’s always best to know in advance whether you will be affected by a rotating outage. To find out, you’ll need to know your outage group number, which may be found in any of three ways:
- Find it at the top of your SCE bill.
- Call us at 1-800-611-1911.
- Use our Outage Map to search by service address or billing address.
Precautionary steps in advance of a rotating outage should include:
- Turning off electronic equipment to prevent circuits from overloading when power is restored, at which point it is safe to turn them back on.
- Leaving one light on to indicate when power has been restored.
- Minimizing driving in an outage area. Anyone who must drive through a rotating outage area should be extremely careful at intersections controlled by traffic lights since the lights may not be functioning. These intersections should be treated as four-way stops.
Commonly Asked Questions about Rotating Outages
Rotating outages become necessary when the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) declares a statewide Energy Emergency Alert Level 3, which occurs when the state's electricity demand outpaces available supply in real time or is otherwise unavoidable. CAISO will typically order the state's investor-owned utilities, including SCE, to reduce electrical load immediately.
To reduce our load, we will initiate a California Public Utilities Commission-approved (CPUC) rotating outage plan in which controlled outages (lasting about one hour) are rotated among groups of customers throughout our service territory. Without rotating outages on a relatively small scale, a widespread disturbance to the electric grid could occur, which would lead to uncontrolled, large-scale outages.
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.
A rotating outage lasts approximately one hour, depending on circumstances. We manage and rotate the outage to protect the integrity of our electric system, while ensuring that no customer is unduly inconvenienced.
- You can search for your Rotating Outage Group by entering your service address, billing address or meter number on the Outage Map.
- You can log into My Account and follow our step-by-step guide.
- If you get a paper bill each month, you can find your Rotating Outage Group printed on the front.
- You can call us at 1-800-611-1911.
- A, M, R, S, X – These groups are subject to rotating outages.
- N001, EXEMPT, No Group ID listed on bill – These groups are not subject to rotating outages.
- Group numbers are subject to change to protect the grid integrity and ensure public safety. These changes will not occur during a Rotating Outage event.
We treat your Rotating Outage Group as confidential information to protect your privacy and safety. This practice makes it harder to perform illegal acts such as burglaries when your area is affected by a rotating outage.
For this same reason we cannot provide Rotating Outage Groups to you for other customers. If you want to stay informed of the rotating outage status of another customer, such as a relative or your child's school, ask them for their Rotating Outage Group. Once that's provided, you can then determine their outage status online with the Outage Map or by calling us at 1-800-611-1911.
We 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) as part of our Medical Baseline Allowance program.
If possible, minimize driving in an outage area. Anyone who must drive through a rotating outage area should be extremely 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.
We will contact the news media, especially radio and television stations, which are encouraged to broadcast the news immediately. We may have as little as 10 minutes after an Energy Emergency Alert Level 3 is declared before we begin rotating outages, which is not enough time to provide individual notifications for affected customers. You can check your status online or call us at 1-800-611-1911 to find out whether you will be affected.
The first thing you should do is find out whether your neighbors have electrical service. If neighbors are also without power, call us at 1-800-611-1911 and we will send someone out to investigate. If your neighbors do have service, you might have an isolated electrical problem in your home or business.
Medical Baseline information: 1-800-684-8123
Emergency Services (such as Power Outages, Lines Down, Street Light Repairs):1-800-611-1911
Energy-Savings Programs:1-800-736-4777
Customer Resources and Support
Our top priority during a power outage is your safety and that of our crews. Follow the link below for programs and services that can help you prepare for a Public Safety Power Shutoff.