With the hottest months of the year on the horizon, Southern California Edison is warning customers that it expects to increase the number of power shutoffs this summer to reduce the risk of wildfires.

The announcement comes after the utility pledged to rebuild infrastructure damaged in the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires that erupted in January, when high winds drove flames and forced SCE to implement public safety power shutoffs that lasted for days in communities across Southern California.

Changing climate patterns and below-average rainfall, when combined with extended periods of high winds, increase the risk of fire, and SCE officials say they’re obligated to do what they can to mitigate those threats. Public safety power shutoffs are one way the utility can reduce the risk of fires from utility equipment.

“We know that any outage is a hardship, including public safety power shutoffs, which we use because they are necessary for safety,” SCE spokesperson Jeff Monford said last week.

The utility issued its advisory days before multiple wildfires broke out across Southern California, underscoring concerns about dry vegetation as the region settles into summer.

Power lines have been linked to some of California’s most devastating wildfires.

In May, SCE agreed to pay a record $82.5 million to settle lawsuits related to the Bobcat Fire, which burned about 114,577 acres, mostly in the Angeles National Forest, in 2020.