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Southern California Edison Records
mssSouthern California Edison records
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Title: Southern California Edison Records
Dates: 1848-1989
Bulk Dates: 1911-1965
Collection Call Number: mssSouthern California Edison records
Creator:
Southern California Edison
Company
Extent:
510 Boxes
Repository: The Huntington Library,
Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Manuscripts
Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2191
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: A selection of corporate records
created by Southern California Edison (SCE), an electric utility founded in 1886.
The collection also includes smaller collections created by employees of SCE and
materials used in the process of writing the official history of SCE.
Language of Material: The records are in English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader
Services.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material,
nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and
obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher. Authorization for commercial uses must be obtained from Southern
California Edison through the EIX (Edison International) Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications.
[Identification of item]. Southern California Edison Records, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.
Gift of Edison International in August 2005.
Related Materials in the Huntington Library
- Southern California Edison motion picture film (mssSCE MP 001-626)
- Southern California Edison Photograph Collection (photSCE)
Southern California Edison (SCE) is the largest electric utility in California and
one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric utilities, serving more than 13
million people in 15 counties of central, coastal and southern California. Based in
Rosemead, California, the utility has been providing electric service in the region
for more than 120 years. SCE is a subsidiary of Edison International, which also is
headquartered in Rosemead. The SCE service territory includes approximately 430
cities and communities with a total customer base of approximately 4.8 million
residential and business accounts. SCE is regulated by the California Public
Utilities Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
SCE's earliest predecessor was Holt and Knupps which in 1886 installed street lights
in Visalia, California. In 1894, a group including Elmer Peck and George Baker
organized West Side Lighting to provide electricity in Los Angeles. The next year
the company merged with Los Angeles Edison Electric, which owned the rights to the
Edison name and patents in the region, and Baker became president. Edison Electric
installed the first DC-power underground conduits in the Southwest. In 1899,
Edison's Santa Ana River No. 1 hydroelectric plant began operation, transmitting
power to Los Angeles over the world's longest power line (83 miles). In 1907,
Edison's Kern River-Los Angeles Transmission Line began operation. At 118 miles and
75 kV, it was the world's longest and highest voltage power line, and the first line
in the nation to be entirely supported by steel towers.
John Barnes Miller began his 31 year service as company president in 1901, the same
year that the Edison Electric Company of Los Angeles recapitalized as a $10 million
corporation. In 1909 after another recapitalization the corporate name was changed
to the present Southern California Edison Company (SCE). Under Miller's leadership,
the firm bought many neighboring utilities and built several power plants. In 1917,
SCE doubled its assets through a merger with Henry E. Huntington's Pacific Light and
Power Corporation. The centerpiece of the merger transferred ownership of the Big
Creek hydroelectric project to SCE - Big Creek eventually became one of the world's
largest hydroelectric projects.
At the same time SCE increased its generation and transmission assets through the
merger with Pacific Light and Power, it also was losing a major customer in the city
of Los Angeles. Beginning in 1912, the city of Los Angeles began developing its own
city-owned power department and conflict with SCE ensued. In 1917, SCE and the city
of Los Angeles reached a settlement under which SCE sold its combined distribution
system within Los Angeles to the city for $12 million. SCE continued to operate the
system under lease until 1922, since the city of Los Angeles required that time to
develop the generating capacity to serve its new system.
During the middle years of the twentieth century, SCE faced a number of natural and
economic challenges. A 1925 earthquake and the 1928 collapse of the St. Francis Dam
severely damaged SCE's facilities. The Great Depression and World War II had a
significant effect on SCE's continued growth and access to economic and natural
resources. Human resources also proved to be an issue in these years as World War II
constricted SCE's access to workers and in 1953 SCE faced a major employee
strike.
SCE survived these difficult decades and in 1964 consolidated its eastern service
area by merging with the California Electric Power Company (also known as
Calectric). Through this merger, SCE gained access to Calectric's 450,000 customers
and 41,500-square-mile territory. A second significant mid-1960s event for SCE was
the 1963 initiation of construction of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station
(SONGS). SONGS Unit 1 began operation in 1968. In addition to nuclear energy, SCE
has also supported the development of renewable and alternative energy resources
such as wind, solar and geothermal. Today's Southern California Edison is the
product of more than a century of providing reliable electric service to central,
coastal and southern California.
The Southern California Edison Records contain books, catalogs, correspondence,
journals, ledgers, log books, meeting minutes, newsletters, newspaper clippings,
pamphlets, photographs, press releases, reports, scrapbooks, and other materials
documenting the history of the Southern California Edison (SCE) Company. The records
cover the years 1848 to 1989 with the bulk of the material ranging from 1911 to
1965. The material is largely textual with the exception of a few non-paper items
scattered throughout.
The Southern California Edison Records consist of materials created, maintained, and
collected by the company. Series 1, Administrative Records, includes documentation
of the management of the company such as Annual Reports to the Federal Power
Commission (1918-1964) and Annual Reports to Stockholders (1914-1987). Also included
are correspondence, manuals, policy and procedure orders, and other documents.
Series 2, Department/Division Records, contains records pertaining to the Commercial
Department, Communications Division, Engineering Department, Garage Department, Shop
and Test Department, and the Steam Generation Division.
The collection also contains Employee Records (Series 3), detailing SCE employees'
activities, benefits, and rules, as well as Financial Records (Series 4), consisting
of cost reports, valuations, and other materials. Series 9, Publications, includes
items published by SCE as well as items collected by SCE. Series 10, Publicity
Records, contains mostly newspaper clippings, press releases, and other materials
documenting the 1953 Edison Employee Strike. Project Records (Series 8), Research
Files (Series 11), Topical Files (Series 12), and the Vertical File (Edison Library)
(Series 13) contain a variety of materials on various subjects such as Big Creek,
the Central Valley Water Project, the Colorado River, energy, Hoover Dam,
hydroelectric plants, public utilities, Thomas Edison, and more.
One of the largest series, Generation, Distribution, and Transmission Records, is
divided into four subseries. Subseries 5.1, Generation (Power Plants) Records,
contains an extensive set of log books maintained by various SCE plants/stations
including Big Creek, Etiwanda, Fontana, Long Beach, Lytle Creek, Mill Creek,
Ontario, and Santa Ana River. These log books contain meter readings, statistical
information, and documentation of plant/station maintenance and operating
activities. Materials in this subseries range in date from 1899 to 1980.
While the Southern California Edison Records are comprised primarily of company
records, Series 6 contains collections of personal papers donated to the company by
various Edison employees, including Dean E. Batchelder, Albert Chavannes, Elizabeth
Erickson Edmunds, and David Hubbard Redinger. Of particular historical note are a
set of Redinger's journals ranging in date from 1904 to 1976. These journals
document Redinger's life, including his time as division superintendent for SCE at
Big Creek, California.
In addition to materials documenting the Southern California Edison Company, the
records also contains limited documentation pertaining to a number of SCE's
predecessor companies, such as the California Electric Power Company, the Edison
Electric Company, the Nevada-California Electric Corporation, the Pacific Light and
Power Company, and the Southern Sierras Power Company. Materials for these and other
predecessor companies are located in Series 7.
The Southern California Edison Records are arranged alphabetically by series title,
with the exception of the last series (Series 14. Oversize Materials). Folders are
arranged alphabetically by title within series. Documents within folders are
arranged in chronological order by date with undated materials residing at the end
of each folder.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into fourteen series:
- Administrative Records, 1892-1987. 8.8 linear feet
- Department/Division Records, 1903-1987. 25.2 linear feet
- Employee Records, 1892-1977. 2.6 linear feet
- Financial Records, 1902-1971. 14.5 linear feet
- Generation, Distribution, and Transmission Records, 1899-1980. 56.5 linear feet
- Personal Papers, 1900-1977. 11.4 linear feet
- Predecessor Companies, 1890-1965. 7.5 linear feet
- Project Records, 1903-1985. 2.1 linear feet
- Publications, 1848-1989. 28.0 linear feet
- Publicity Records, 1914-1978. 1.4 linear feet
- Research Files, 1866-1987. 5.6 linear feet
- Topical Records, 1898-1988. 1.8 linear feet
- Vertical File (Edison Library), 1889-1989. 45.8 linear feet
- Oversize Materials, 1899-1985 1.5 linear feet
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
Huntington Library's Online Catalog.
Batchelder, Dean E.
Chavannes, Albert.
Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva),
1847-1931.
Huntington, Henry Edwards, 1850-1927.
Edmunds, Elizabeth Erickson.
Mullendore, William Clinton, 1892-.
Redinger, David H.
Big Creek (Calif.).
Hoover Dam (Ariz. and Nev.).
Shaver Lake (Calif.).
Boulder Canyon Project
(U.S.).
California Public Utilities
Commission.
Central Valley Project (Calif.).
Edison Electric Company.
Edison Electric Institute.
General Electric Company.
Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California (Calif.).
National Electric Light Association.
Convention.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
Railroad Commission of the State of
California.
Southern California Edison Company.
Tennessee Valley Authority.
United States Reclamation Service.
Air—Pollution.
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident, Chornobyl',
Ukraine, 1986.
Civil engineering.
Dams.
Electric engineering.
Electric industry workers.
Electricity.
Electric lines.
Electric power.
Electric power distribution.
Electric power-plants.
Electric properties.
Electric substations.
Electric transformers.
Energy facilities.
Engineering.
Geothermal power plants.
Hydroelectric power plants.
Nuclear energy.
Nuclear power plants.
Power plants.
Power transmission.
Public utilities.
Shortwave radio.
Solar energy.
Steam.
Water power.
Water supply.