Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS)

What is a PSPS?

When the National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts critical fire weather conditions (e.g., high winds or Santa Ana events, high temperatures, low humidity, etc.), the power companies (Southern California Edison, or SCE, in Malibu and much of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties) may proactively shut down power in certain at-risk areas to reduce the threat of wildfires.

Malibu is separated into areas serviced by SCE circuits. Malibu is broken into eight circuit areas. During a PSPS, power to all properties within a specific circuit(s) identified as at-risk for a wildfire will be turned off until the weather conditions change. 

View maps of SCE circuits in Malibu.

  1. PSPS Resources
  2. Alerts and Notifications
  3. Situational Awareness
  1. Preparedness
  2. Customer Rebates

September 30, 2025 - SCE Meeting on Wildfire Safety and Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) 

View the recording of the meeting on the City's YouTube Channel.

SCE’S PSPSS THREATEN THE SAFETY OF LIVES AND HOMES
SCE’s Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) have left our entire community in total communications blackouts, as seen during the Franklin and Palisades fires, compounding the already life-threatening danger of wildfires. Without access to critical emergency information about evacuations, shelters, and road closures, residents cannot make informed decisions to protect their safety, and the City’s ability to provide emergency information, our top priority, is crippled. Long-lasting PSPS outages create obstacles to people’s ability to work, get to school, and commute, causing real economic and quality of life impacts. 

Despite years of advocacy from the City, SCE has announced this summer that will implement more frequent and longer PSPSs this fire season while still failing to provide any mitigation measures such as backup power for traffic signals and cell phone towers. 

According to SCE's 2024 System Reliability Report, in 2024, Malibu had three times more frequent outages than other SCE cities, and those outages lasted 30 times longer. While other cities, on average, got their power back within three hours, Malibu waited more than three days.  

SCE has been authorized by the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) since 2018 to use Public PSPSs to proactively shut off power during hazardous fire weather (wind and humidity) to reduce the risk of their equipment causing a fire, often for days at a time, even without significant wind. 

CALL TO ACTION

See SCE's presentation. 

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SCE Wildfire Mitigation Plan

SCE files an annual update to its 2023 - 2025 Wildfire Mitigation Plan with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The updated plan discusses upgrades that will lead to the reduction and frequency of PSPS to reduce the hardship to its customers and communities.

For additional information about the SCE Wildfire Mitigation Plan, view the press release and fact sheet or visit SCE.com/wildfire.

SCE PSPS CORRECTIVE PLAN

On January 19, 2021, the California Public Utilities Commission's (CPUC) required SCE to create a corrective plan in response to feedback and widespread complaints from customers, regulators, government officials, and public safety partners, including the following:

  • SCE must do more to reduce the need for PSPS
  • SCE must perform coordination, communication, de-energization, and re-energization protocols more effectively when a PSPS is necessary
  • SCE must share its wildfire mitigation and PSPS-related plans in a clear and useful manner; and support its customers, especially Medical Baseline customers and customers with access and functional needs (AFN), with more resiliency options

SCE released its Corrective Action Plan for the PSPS program on March 12, 2021.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES