Southern California Edison risks lives to avoid fire liability
By Josie Calloway · Reporting from Pittsburgh ·
As a record heat wave hits Los Angeles, Southern California Edison considers power shutoffs that leave the most vulnerable to bake, proving the utility values its balance sheet over human life.
Southern California Edison is playing a dangerous game with human lives to protect its own bank account. While a record heat wave bakes the region, the utility is eyeing the kill switch on the power grid. This is not about safety. It is about liability.
The people who bake while the city watches
The heat arrived on Friday, October 2, 2026. ABC7 Los Angeles reports that downtown Los Angeles hit 102 degrees. This broke the daily record. The National Weather Service warns that this prolonged heat is dangerous. It creates a "hazardous wearing down effect" on the very young and the old.
These are the patients I know. They are the ones who cannot move themselves to a cooling center. They are the infants, the elderly, and people with chronic medical conditions. The CDC warns that people on water pills must ask their doctors how much to drink. In this heat, a mistake in fluid balance is a trip to the ER.
A utility protecting its wallet
Now look at the system failure. LAist reports that Southern California Edison considered power shutoffs for nearly 10,000 customers in Riverside County. The utility claims this is to reduce fire risk. An advocate for the company would say they must prevent another catastrophe to protect the grid and the public.
That argument is a lie. The utility is trigger-happy because it is drowning in debt. According to the company's own 10-K filing, Southern California Edison recorded $1.1 billion in losses from the Eaton Fire settlements. They are not protecting people. They are protecting their margins.
The record shows a pattern of negligence. The company initiated power shutoffs. They even paid a $7.9 million penalty for failing to notify customers about those shutoffs.
The old script of systemic neglect
We have seen this movie before. The 1995 Chicago heat wave led to 739 heat-related deaths in Chicago. Most victims were elderly poor residents. They did not have air conditioning. Or they had it but could not afford to turn it on. They did not open windows or sleep outside for fear of crime. That was a systemic failure to protect the vulnerable. In Los Angeles, the utility creates the lack of cooling by cutting the power.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health tells people to stay hydrated and use cooling centers. But a cooling center is a bandage. The real cure is a grid that does not shut off when the temperature hits 100 degrees.
Southern California Edison is wrong. They are trading the lives of the elderly and the sick for a liability cap. Based on the company's history with the Eaton Fire, they will likely trigger widespread shutoffs as this heat persists. They will leave thousands of vulnerable residents without air conditioning to ensure their shareholders do not take a hit. This is not a weather disaster. It is a corporate crime.