SoCal halts plans for buildings under power lines
Southern California Edison vice president Steven Conroy says in a statement that the company is changing its policy because permanent structures would stop it from safely maintaining and inspecting its steel towers and thick transmission lines.
The utility had planned to raise millions of dollars by leasing out valuable real estate under its web of high-voltage towers.
Firefighters opposed the construction because they said it posed a fire hazard, while neighbors said the buildings would lead to blight.
Los Angeles County recently changed its building codes to ban permanent structures under major transmission lines.
But Conroy says Edison decided independently to halt its construction plans.
Related News
Heathrow Airport Power Outage: Vulnerabilities Flagged Days Before Disruption
LONDON - On March 21, 2025, Heathrow Airport, Europe's busiest, suffered a catastrophic power outage that led to the cancellation and diversion of over 1,400 flights, affecting nearly 300,000 passengers and costing airlines an estimated £100 million. The power failure, triggered by a fire at an electricity substation in west London, left Heathrow with a significant operational crisis. This disruption is even more significant considering that Heathrow is one of the most expensive airports globally, which raises concerns about its infrastructure resilience.
In a parliamentary committee meeting, Heathrow officials admitted that vulnerabilities in the airport’s power supply were flagged just…
