Here’s a bit of advice to Southern California Edison: Under promise and over deliver. Dozens of businesses in downtown Santa Monica lost power last weekend because an underground power vault consisting of a transformer and multiple circuits blew up. It rendered much of the downtown district powerless for roughly two hours. Since that time, intermittent repairs have left a couple of blocks near the site of Saturday’s explosion a confusing maze for shoppers and drivers trying to maneuver around the city as streets continued to be closed and businesses remained dark.
While most businesses were up and running within two days, others were not. And if they were, it was because they brought in their own generators.
Edison officials kept extending target dates to have the entire city back up and running, frustrating many who had high expectations of returning to work and their livelihoods. First it was Tuesday, then it was Wednesday and then it was supposed to be Friday. The latest estimate is Sunday.
We understand unforeseen problems arise and officials’ best guesses are sometimes the best they’ve got. But it would have been nice if they just said they didn’t know and it could be up to a week or more. The blatant truth might infuriate Edison customers at first, but they’d get over it. It is much more infuriating to be told one thing and experience something entirely different.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 28, 2006. Read the original PDF.