Photo by Stephanie Rivera.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will hold its next Voting Meeting Thursday at 9:30AM in Long Beach, one of just a few such meetings hosted outside of San Francisco, and perhaps a sure way to address a city that fell victim to numerous major power outages in 2015.

According to CPUC, the meeting will feature a presentation on the commission’s penalty case against Southern California Edison (SCE) regarding the power outages that occurred in July and August of 2015, as well as updates on the Frontier Communications outages and a recent three-hour electrical outage, all within the Port of Long Beach Harbor Commission Council Chambers.

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“It’s an opportunity to make the Commission [CPUC] more accessible,” said CPUC spokesman Christopher Chow.

The meeting will kick off with a public comment section. Those looking to attend are encouraged to check out the agenda and observe the rules listed here.

The incident over which the CPUC is investigating SCE stems from the July and August 2015 power outages, which left over 30,000 customers without power at their peak, after an underground blast interrupted a power network and blew off multiple manhole covers throughout downtown.

According to CPUC, an investigation by staff, as well as independent investigations and those conducted internally by SCE found maintenance, inspection and management failures, as well as lack of oversight leading to the devastating outages that in some cases lasted days.

Edison could reportedly face up to $50,000 in fines if it is found guilty of the violations. Specifically, the investigation will determine if the organization violated rules or regulations, maintained accurate and complete records and provided sufficient emergency response and communications during the outages.

The Port of Long Beach Harbor Commission Council Chambers are located at 4801 Airport Plaza Drive, Long Beach.

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