Santa Barbara is located at a fragile edge of the electricity transmission grid, and when that tenuous grid fails, everyone throughout the entire Santa Barbara region is at risk of losing service — potentially for months at a time.
A single set of power lines runs 40 miles across the backside of the mountains through extreme fire, landslide, and earthquake zones, to a connection point in Ventura. When those lines are disrupted, whether from natural disaster, operational error, or utility shutoffs, electricity service can be lost from Point Conception to Carpinteria. Anyone who lived through the Thomas Fire and subsequent debris flows understands the stakes. And with more frequent extreme weather events, the risk of disruption is growing.
The traditional solution — building more power lines — takes decades and would cost ratepayers billions of dollars. Thankfully, there’s a fast, practical, and cost-efficient alternative: enhance resilience within the Santa Barbara region.