Large sections of Downey, Norwalk lose power on Christmas Eve due to transformer failure

A transformer failure caused a power outage in the Downey and Norwalk areas, affecting tens of thousands of customers on Christmas Eve.

Outages were reported in Downey at 1:35 p.m. affecting 23,678 customers, according to Southern California Edison’s outage status website. In the unincorporated area near Ada S. Nelson Elementary School in Whittier, an additional 12,437 customers had lost power. There was no estimated restoration time given for either outage as of 5 p.m.

Spokesperson Jeff Monford of Southern California Edison told The Times just before 3 p.m. that a transformer failure had caused power outages in Downey and Norwalk, but power had been restored to most customers earlier in the day. “We know any outage is a hardship,” Monford said, and added that crews would work to restore power as quickly as possible.

Southern California Edison had given no expected restoration time as of 5 p.m.