An overnight power outage in South Orange County on July 15 left 22,525 San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) customers without electricity, potentially increasing the utility's system-wide outage duration metric by up to 3.38 minutes, according to preliminary calculations. The outage, which began at 8:48 p.m. Pacific time, impacted areas including Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, south Laguna Beach, San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente, and Capistrano Beach. By 10:45 p.m., approximately 3,200 customers had their service restored, with SDG&E targeting full restoration by 1 a.m. on July 16.
Impact on Reliability Metrics
The outage affected 1.45% of the 1.552 million electric meters that Sempra (NYSE: SRE) reported for its California utility arm as of March 31. This event would rank as the fourth-largest outage on SDG&E's 2024 chart, positioned between a rainstorm that impacted 25,992 customers and a vehicle-related incident affecting 21,616 customers. The preliminary System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) contribution is estimated at 3.38 minutes, which falls between the 5.22-minute rainstorm loss and the 3.26-minute heat-related event from SDG&E's 2024 list.
Context Within Sempra's Capital Plan
The timing of this outage is significant as Sempra is in the midst of a five-year, $65 billion capital plan, with 95% allocated to utilities in California and Texas. CEO Jeffrey Martin stated in May that the company is focused on modernizing and extending the reach of its utilities. Reliability metrics like SAIDI are key indicators of the effectiveness of this spending. The outage's contribution to the five-year average SAIDI of 60 minutes per customer is about 5.6%, while for 2024's SAIDI of 71.13 minutes (excluding major-event days) it is 4.8%, and for 2024's SAIDI of 157.23 minutes (including major-event days) it is 2.1%.
Market and Earnings Implications
While the outage is noticeable in annual reliability statistics, it is unlikely to affect Sempra's near-term earnings. Sempra's stock closed at $92.78 on Wednesday, down 0.6%, with the outage occurring after market close. U.S. markets were closed at the dateline, and trading resumes as normal on Thursday. The real risk lies in the cause of the outage. If it is a small localized fault with inexpensive repairs, investors may quickly move on. However, repeated equipment problems, higher repair costs, longer downtime, or safety issues could lead to questions about maintenance and cost recovery.
Outage Details and Restoration
By 1:08 a.m., SDG&E's outage detail list removed the South Orange County incident from its active unplanned outages, showing only small outages in Oceanside, Rancho Penasquitos, and Valley Center, aligning with the 1 a.m. restoration target. SDG&E did not disclose the cause of the outage or the final restoration time. The ceiling estimate for SAIDI contribution assumes all 22,525 accounts were out from 8:48 p.m. to 10:45 p.m., with the remaining 19,325 customers offline until 1 a.m., totaling approximately 5.24 million customer-minutes across 1.552 million meters.
Broader Implications
This event underscores the importance of grid reliability for utilities and the scrutiny investors place on such metrics. For Sempra, a minor outage like this is not expected to materially impact earnings, but it serves as a reminder of the operational risks inherent in utility operations. As of early Thursday, no confirmation of the cause or any long-term implications had been released.
