Utilities Work to Restore Power to Southern California Customers Amid Heat Wave

Pedestrians cross a street in downtown Los Angeles on September 4, 2024, as Southern California faces a heat wave. Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP via Getty Images

LOS ANGELES—Utility workers were laboring around the clock this weekend to restore power amid a long and blistering heat wave, with dozens of outages being reported around the Southland again Sunday.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) was still reporting dozens of outages early Sunday afternoon, including around University of Southern California’s (USC) University Park campus. As of noon Sunday, the utility said the outage was affecting 1,842 customers, with the estimated time of restoration at 6 p.m.

“Crews continue to work in the field to respond to power outages and restore power. Echo Park, Northridge, and Valley Glen are among the communities with the most number of customers impacted,” the LADWP said at 3:47 p.m. Sunday. “At this time, 6,610 customers out of LADWP’s 1.5 million electric customers remain without power. 71,101 customers power has been restored as of 3:00 p.m.”

On Saturday, the Department was reporting about 7,000 of its 1.5 million electric customers were without power in about 100 separate outage incidents in mainly residential areas.

As of 3:45 p.m. Sunday, Southern California Edison (SCE) was reporting 34 outages affecting 2,764 customers in Los Angeles County, and seven outages affecting 156 customers in Orange County—also an improvement over Saturday’s totals, though many outages typically occur in the late afternoon and early evening when demand is at its highest.

LADWP customers can check the locations and status of outages at ladwp.com/outages, and SCE customers can get updates at sce.com/outage-center/check-outage-status.

Los Angeles officials were urging DWP customers to report power outages to 800-DIAL DWP (800-342-5397) or ladwp.com/outages immediately. The DWP needs the real-time information to deploy crews to restore electricity as quickly as possible.

SCE customers can report an outage at sce.com/outage-center/report-an-outage.

Residents are also urged to conserve power during the peak afternoon and early evening hours to avoid blackouts.

“Stay safe and cool by adjusting your thermostats to 78,” the DWP advised. “If you’re away from your home, turn your AC systems off.”

The utility also recommends using major appliances such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and dishwashers before 4 p.m. or after 9 p.m., or not at all if possible until the heat waves pass.

Some students at homes near USC’s University Park campus lost power around 9:30 p.m. Sep 6, and other outages cut power to thousands more in the surrounding areas, including Mount St. Mary’s University, West Adams, and Exposition Park.

The campus itself did not lose power.

“Power on the UPC (main) Campus is currently operational,” the university wrote in an alert Sep 6. “LADWP is working to restore service.”