Power has been restored for all Long Beach area residents affected by the city's second widespread power outage in a month, Southern California Edison said Saturday evening.
All customers without power were receiving electrical service through either the network or temporary generators as of 5 p.m., according to Lauren Bartlett of Southern California Edison.
More than 75 crews were continuing to repair and test the underground network systems into the evening, and customers still receiving power from generators are expected to be transitioned to the electrical network through the night and into Sunday morning, according to SCE.
Customers in certain areas of Long Beach have already been informed that the transition could take longer due to additional safety procedures, Bartlett said.
Long Beach residents were encouraged to conserve electricity as Southern California Edison continued to make repairs.
The three-day power outage was the second in a month for the Long Beach area, and was the result of an underground vault explosion that occured Thursday just North of downtown and initially left thousands of customers without power.
Residents scrambled to salvage perishable food with ice and used flashlights to substitute in-home lighting. Some residents set up a distribution point where they helped other residents share goods and supplies. Southern California Edison also distributed ice and water at the Cesar Chavez Community Center.
Many residents expressed frustration with the latest power outage.
"This is the second time this month and this is unacceptable," resident Robert Navarro said.
SCE was able to provide interim power to residents who were previously without power using portable, industrial generators. Power was initially expected to be restored by Friday, but the damage was discovered to be more extensive than previously thought.
The cause of the explosion had not been determined as of Saturday evening.
