Southern California Edison Maps Climate Risks to Grid Infrastructure…

Event summary

Southern California Edison (SCE) released its 2026 Climate Adaptation Vulnerability Assessment (CAVA), identifying grid vulnerabilities from extreme heat, flooding, and wildfires.
A 0.5°C increase in global warming expands underground equipment at risk from 3 to 22 sites and pad-mount transformers from 9,800 to 12,000.
SCE plans temperature monitors on underground circuits to inform future design standards.
Report calls for cross-sector collaboration to integrate climate data into infrastructure planning.

The big picture

Edison International's climate adaptation work reflects growing utility sector focus on quantifying climate risks to aging infrastructure. As extreme weather events increase, grid operators face pressure to preemptively harden systems against specific hazards. SCE's asset-level vulnerability modeling could set a precedent for climate risk disclosure standards in energy infrastructure.

What we're watching

Investment Prioritization: How SCE will allocate capital to address newly identified climate vulnerabilities in underground and pad-mount equipment.
Regulatory Alignment: Whether California will mandate climate risk assessments for other utilities and infrastructure sectors.
Cross-Sector Coordination: The pace at which state agencies, local governments, and private companies implement the report's call for coordinated climate resilience efforts.