SIMI VALLEY : Planned Power Cut Affects 50 Homes

About 50 homes lost electricity for about six hours in Simi Valley on Wednesday, a planned interruption in service that left some residents without air conditioning as temperatures climbed into the upper 90s.

Southern California Edison cut electricity to the homes about 8:30 a.m., said Christina Bradley, Edison’s regional manager for Simi Valley. The interruption allowed work crews to move power lines along Tierra Rejada Road, part of a project to widen the road, Bradley said.

The outage affected homes on Tierra Rejada, Stargaze Place, Stoney Peak Court and Algonquin Drive.

Power was restored about 2:30 p.m., Bradley said.

Last week, Edison sent out postcard notices warning customers of the interruption, Bradley said.

But Frank Coony of Stoney Peak Court said Wednesday morning he and several neighbors hadn’t received any word that power would be cut. He and his wife would have to find somewhere else to spend the day.

“We’re in our 70s, and this is just too much,” he said as his home began to heat up. “Why they can’t change their plans on the hottest day of the year, I don’t understand.”

Bradley said the work needed to be done. “When we were scheduling the work, we had no idea how warm it was going to be today, and we need to get in there and do our portion of the job,” she said.

However, the heat caused the company to alter its plans for today.

Edison had planned to cut power to a nearby mobile home park, Friendly Village, starting about 8:30 a.m. Instead, the company will use a portable generator to keep power flowing into the park’s clubhouse and 221 coaches while work continues along Tierra Rejada.