About 3,500 Southern California Edison (SCE) customers in South Pasadena lost power Wednesday night, October 21, in an outage that hit at about 8:40 p.m. and left some residents without power until around 6 a.m. Thursday morning.
Most homes had power back within two to three hours.
The real number of people affected is likely well above 3,500. SCE counts outages by customer account, not by residents, and the outage reached apartment and condo buildings along with single-family homes.
Streets and Signals Went Dark
Shortly after the lights went out, the City of South Pasadena posted an alert reporting a significant outage in the area of Monterey Road west of Fremont Avenue. Street lights and traffic signals were both out, and the city urged drivers to use caution. The city said SCE had been notified.
What Caused It
SCE stated to The South Pasadenan: “The cause is still under investigation”
Unconfirmed reports indicate the outage was not caused by downed power lines or a blown transformer. The South Pasadenan has not independently confirmed those reports.
Why a Mild Storm Knocked Out Power
That is the question many residents are asking Thursday. Wednesday’s rainy night is not the kind of weather that usually brings down a large part of the city’s grid.
SCE’s Pole Replacement Work in Town
SCE has been replacing utility poles and upgrading power lines across South Pasadena for a few years, and the program picked up speed after the January 2025 Eaton Fire. Crews have used helicopters to set new poles in hillside spots at what seemed like an accelerated rate.
In October 2025, the city announced SCE grid work in the Southwest Monterey Hills area, scheduled from October 14, 2025 through January 30, 2026. The city said the work would bring heavy equipment, road closures, planned outages and helicopter operations.
The work is ongoing. Earlier this month, CalTrans approved a permit for SCE to replace another utility pole along the 110 Freeway inside South Pasadena city limits.
There is no indication so far that Wednesday night’s outage is connected to the pole replacement work, or possible in-ground work currently in progress.
Residents still having power problems can report them to SCE at 1-800-611-1911 or through the outage center at sce.com.
