Utility workers were laboring around the clock this weekend to restore power amid a long and blistering heat wave, with slightly fewer outages being reported around the Southland Sunday.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was still reporting dozens of outages early Sunday afternoon, including around USC’s University Park campus. As of noon Sunday, the utility said the outage was affecting 1,842 customers, with the estimated time of restoration at 6 p.m.
Another outage was affecting 639 customers in the Echo Park area, with their ETA for restoration at 9 p.m.
Though dozens of outages remained in effect, Sunday’s numbers seemed lighter than Saturday, when the DWP was reporting about 7,000 of its 1.5 million electric customers were without power in about 100 separate outage incidents in mainly residential areas.
“It will take time for crews to respond to and restore all affected areas as safely as possible,” the LADWP posted at 4:45 p.m. Saturday. “Please be patient with us as our crews continue to work around the clock.”
As of noon Sunday, Southern California Edison was reporting 13 outages affecting 437 customers in Los Angeles County, and one outage affecting 23 customers in Orange County — also an improvement over Saturday’s totals.
LADWP customers can check the locations and status of outages at ladwp.com/outages, and SCE customers can get updates at sce.com/outage- center/check-outage-status.
Los Angeles officials were urging DWP customers to report power outages to 800-DIAL DWP (800-342-5397) or ladwp.com/outages immediately. The DWP needs the real-time information to deploy crews to restore electricity as quickly as possible.
SCE customers can report an outage at sce.com/outage-center/report-an-outage.
Residents are also urged to conserve power during the peak afternoon and early evening hours to avoid blackouts.
“Stay safe and cool by adjusting your thermostats to 78,” the DWP advised. “If you’re away from your home, turn your AC systems off.”
The utility also recommends using major appliances such as washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and dishwashers before 4 p.m. or after 9 p.m., or not at all if possible until the heat waves passes.
Some students at homes near USC’s University Park campus lost power around 9:30 p.m. Friday, and other outages cut power to thousands more in the surrounding areas, including Mount St. Mary’s University, West Adams and Exposition Park.
The campus itself did not lose power.
“Power on the UPC (main) Campus is currently operational,” the university wrote in an alert Friday. “LADWP is working to restore service.”