Alissa Hazard was in a hurry in the grocery store checkout line when the call came into her cellphone. “I picked up the call. It was a recorded message saying it was Southern California Edison and, ‘You have a past-due balance, and to avoid service interruption, pay now by pressing one.’

Chip Chapella has been with Southern California Edison for almost 40 years. His job involves repairing underground electrical vaults that have been in service much longer, often by 20 years or more. ...

Southern California Edison is investing $5 billion annually to improve the reliability of the power grid, including battery storage and technological advancements. Even so, power outages are sometimes unavoidable. ...