Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Altadena Residents Blast Edison Over Underground Power Line Costs at Town Council Meeting

Photo Credit: Taylor Hillo, Southern California Edison

Altadena homeowners and fire survivors voiced sharp criticism of Southern California Edison’s plan to underground power lines in the Eaton Fire burn area at Tuesday’s Altadena Town Council meeting, with residents calling the estimated $8,000 to $10,000 cost to connect from their private property to underground infrastructure an unfair burden on a community still struggling to rebuild.

Edison’s Bradley Pensak, who is the Senior Manager of Targeted Undergrounding / Wildfire Rebuild responsible in Altadena and Malibu, told the council that SCE is prioritizing approximately 63 miles of distribution lines for undergrounding in Altadena and surrounding areas affected by the January 2025 Eaton Fire. About 40 of those miles fall within the High Fire Risk Area near the canyons, with the remaining 23 miles in areas where properties were severely damaged.

Pensak said the civil construction costs — which typically include conduit and trenching on a customer’s private property — are costs the customer would bear, particularly in new construction rebuilds. He said Edison had submitted proposals to the California Public Utilities Commission seeking ways to help offset customer costs and was also working with LA County on its FEMA funding submittal through Cal OES.

“We’re just waiting some decisions back on that,” Pensak said of the CPUC proposals. “There’s some things pending, but hopefully we’re going to see some responses on those within the next few months, if not sooner.”

But during public comment, residents made clear that patience was running thin.

One community member who identified himself as a neighborhood captain in the Altadena block program called the undergrounding effort “a cash grab by SCE,” saying the utility was asking residents “to bury our rebuild money and insurance payout in the ground.” He said that after SCE rerouted his overhead connection through a live oak tree, a technician who inspected the work described it as covered connector and pull-away wire that is “basically as safe as undergrounding.” The resident argued that such methods are considerably cheaper and would come at no cost to the homeowner, contending that Edison chose the more expensive undergrounding approach instead.

Robert Steller, speaking on behalf of the Altadena community, said Edison’s rush to promote undergrounding after the fire “precluded the careful planning and outreach that was needed before proceeding.” Steller said the community had expected a future without visible utilities, but instead faces utility poles remaining in backyards, new pad-mount transformers installed in front of homes, and service drops strung across streets.

“We demand that the process be paused and a more considered and complete solution to utility undergrounding be put in place,” Steller said, adding that he was submitting a formal request to the town council for a policy recommendation letter to the LA County Board of Supervisors.

Another resident, identified in the meeting’s public comment call as Richard Rieber, urged the council to pressure the CPUC to apply Rule 20D — a regulation that allowed San Diego County to pay for homeowner trenching costs after a wildfire — to Altadena. He called on the commission to hold Edison accountable, saying the utility should not be paying dividends to shareholders while fire survivors bear rebuilding costs.

Council member Morgan Z Whirledge pressed Pensak on the financial structure, noting that Edison is able to place its undergrounding work into a memorandum account and ultimately add it to the utility’s rate base, allowing the company to collect a profit of up to 10 percent on the infrastructure. Meanwhile, she said, private property owners receive no such return on the thousands of dollars they must spend for trenching on their own land.

“I just feel it’s inadequate to come and say that you’re working on finding funding for the trenching on private property when your equipment will be able to return you a profit,” Worledge told Pensak.

Pensak acknowledged he could not address the financial specifics, saying that area was outside his expertise. He reiterated that standing homes can remain on overhead service at no cost as part of the restoration effort while undergrounding decisions are made.

Council member Reginald Wilkins, who is also an SCE employee, urged the company to recognize that Altadena homeowners are not professional developers and should not be treated as such in the rebuilding process. He suggested Edison explore spreading undergrounding fees across customer bills, as Pasadena Water and Power does.

In his presentation, Pensak also announced that Edison plans to open the Altadena Rebuild Community Hub — referred to as “the ARCH” — at 2680 Fair Oaks Avenue by the end of March. The walk-in center will be staffed with service planners and consumer affairs specialists and will not require appointments. Customers can also reach the Altadena-dedicated team by emailing sceprojects@sce.com.

Pensak provided an update on active undergrounding projects, saying about four miles of distribution lines are currently under construction. The Rosebud project east of Lake Avenue on East Palm Street and Maiden Lane is expected to complete civil undergrounding work by the end of April, while the Marathon project on Marathon Road between Fair Oaks and Marengo is expected to finish both civil and electrical work by the end of March.

Several additional projects are expected to begin construction in April with completion targeted for the end of June. Those include a Rosebud expansion on North Maiden Lane and Mount Curve Avenue; the Oaks project in the area between Holliston, Altadena Drive, Allen Avenue and Mendocino; and the Homewood project in the area between Marengo, Calaveras, Glenrose and Mariposa.

Pensak also addressed community concerns about SCE’s impact on legacy trees, saying the utility employs certified arborists on staff who review trench paths and equipment locations. He said crews use water-jet trenching and hand digging near tree root systems to minimize disturbance.

On the utility’s wildfire recovery compensation program, Pensak reported that as of March 16, 2,694 claims had been submitted, 821 settlement offers totaling more than $248.9 million had been extended, and 123 payments totaling $31.3 million had been made or were in process.