Letter: Underground Laguna Beach Utilities Now!

On July 20th, a single drunk driver knocked out power on Laguna Canyon Road, crippling canyon businesses and homes, and snarling traffic for hours. (See photo.)

By extraordinary luck, the pole did not fall. Had it come down, a fire might have started.  If that thought is not bad enough, consider this. The wires on the leaning pole carry the entire high-voltage transmission for the Southern California Edison substation of Laguna Beach. Had they gone down, most of the city would have been without power for a very long time.

Edison has a design criterion that says if a substation is served by only two incoming high transmission lines (the two sets of three wires highest on the pole), then, for reliability, the two lines must NOT be on the same pole, if exposed to vehicular traffic. 

It looks as though SCE has broken its own rules.  Does that remind you of SCE and San Onofre?

And here’s an interesting fact.  At the current rate of undergrounding, the entire city of Laguna Beach will be undergrounded by about 4000 AD! Can we wait that long?  

-- Chris Reed, Chair, Temple Hills Community Association