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Power Outage Susceptible Areas / Intense Santa Ana Winds / Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) / 2025 Windstorm and Wildfire Recovery

Council File 25-0006-S26

Under review — LADWP delivered its response to why January's windstorm hit some neighborhoods harder than others, and the utility's report is now with two committees to decide whether to accept the findings and close the matter.

Introduced
2025-01-14
Last changed
2026-09-16
CFMS file status
File open See note on file status
Expires
2028-09-15
Committee
Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery
Mover
ADRIN NAZARIAN
Second
MONICA RODRIGUEZ

This is the City Clerk's status for the council file itself, not the outcome of the measure. A file often stays open after the Council has already adopted an item. The summary above reflects the latest recorded action.

Brief

Introduced by Adrin Nazarian and seconded by Monica Rodriguez, this motion directs the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to identify areas most vulnerable to power outages during intense Santa Ana winds and to develop strategies for reducing wildfire risk through grid hardening and resilience measures. The Council adopted the motion 11-0-4 on February 18, 2025. A subsequent LADWP report submitted in September 2026 is now pending review in the Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery and the Energy and Environment Committee.

Full summary

This motion, introduced in January 2025 by Councilmember Adrin Nazarian and seconded by Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, was prompted by the January 7-8, 2025 windstorm and wildfire emergency in which intense Santa Ana winds knocked out power to more than 127,000 LADWP customers overnight, with outages across Los Angeles County ultimately exceeding 936,000 homes and businesses. The motion asks LADWP to explain why certain neighborhoods are more vulnerable to outages than others, what factors drove the uneven impact across the city, and what contingency plans the utility has to address those disparities. In September 2026, LADWP submitted a formal response signed by Interim General Manager David Hanson. The report's central finding is that nearly 99 percent of all power outages occur on the distribution system — the final stage of electricity delivery to customers — rather than on transmission or generation infrastructure. Vulnerability differs by infrastructure type: overhead lines, which make up 65 percent of LADWP's distribution network, are more exposed to wind, falling vegetation, and debris but are faster to repair; underground systems are shielded from wind events but are harder to access and take longer to restore when flooded during rainstorms. During the January 2025 windstorm, areas served by overhead lines were disproportionately affected because high winds drove tree limbs and debris into distribution lines and restoration crews could not safely respond until hazardous conditions eased. The report outlines several programs LADWP uses to mitigate outage risk. The Power System Reliability Program (PSRP) identifies aging equipment for proactive replacement; in fiscal year 2024-25 alone, LADWP replaced more than 1,600 distribution transformers, over 10,000 crossarms, and 60 miles of underground cable. The utility's Wildfire Mitigation Plan focuses on system hardening through tighter design standards, vegetation management, and updated operating protocols. Storm readiness procedures include pre-positioning crews before forecast weather events and calling in additional contract workers when demand spikes. LADWP also reports that its reliability performance, measured by industry-standard frequency and duration indices, has been comparable to California's major investor-owned utilities from 2022 through 2024. The report also highlights two major capital projects: a new high-voltage receiving station at LAX — the first built in the city in over 30 years — and infrastructure upgrades at the Port of Los Angeles to support electrification of cargo operations. LADWP has additionally established a Power Asset Management Office to integrate outage history, asset condition, and risk data into long-term investment planning. The motion moved quickly after introduction: the Council President redirected it to the Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery in late January 2025, the committee approved it as amended on February 6, and the full Council adopted it 11-0-4 on February 18, 2025. LADWP's September 2026 report recommends that the Council receive and file it. That report is now pending before both the Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery and the Energy and Environment Committee. The file remains open through September 2028.

Activity (12)

  • 2026-09-16 Department of Water and Power document(s) referred to Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery; Energy and Environment Committee.
  • 2026-09-15 Document submitted by Department of Water and Power, dated September 10, 2026.
  • 2025-02-19 Council action final.
  • 2025-02-18 Council adopted item, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
  • 2025-02-14 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on February 18, 2025.
  • 2025-02-10 Energy and Environment Committee waived consideration of item .
  • 2025-02-06 Community Impact Statement submitted by North Westwood Neighborhood Council.
  • 2025-02-06 Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery approved as amended .
  • 2025-02-05 Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery scheduled item for committee meeting on February 6, 2025.
  • 2025-01-31 Corrected Referral per Council President to include Energy and Environment Committee.
  • 2025-01-27 Corrected Referral per Council President to change referral to Ad Hoc Committee for LA Recovery.
  • 2025-01-14 Motion referred to Energy and Environment Committee.

Documents (7)

Council votes (1)

  • 2025-02-18 Adopted — 11-0-4 · Regular

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