For an SCE-served Murrieta home with Powerwall, Tesla’s manual Storm Watch control offers another way to prepare when you have advance notice of an interruption. Its current instructions let you activate an event for a selected duration. That is useful to discuss with your installer before planned maintenance; it does not schedule SCE’s work or confirm that your battery is full.
Murrieta’s utility directory lists Southern California Edison. This is evergreen preparation guidance, reviewed November 10, 2026, at 4:05 p.m. Pacific—not an announcement of a Murrieta outage.
What the manual control actually does
In the Tesla app, open Settings, then Storm Watch. Enable Storm Watch, choose Schedule Event, select the duration, and tap Schedule to activate it. Tesla requires a paired phone and enabled Grid Charging; the Certified Installer determines whether the Grid Charging setting is available by default. To cancel a scheduled event, return to Storm Watch and select the event’s x icon. See Tesla’s current instructions.
The documented sequence selects a duration and activates the event. Do not assume it offers a future start-time field. If your app lacks the control, have your installer or system provider confirm availability and permissions before relying on it.
Our earlier Murrieta guide to Storm Watch and SCE alerts explains the distinction between automatic weather monitoring and utility notifications.
Start with the address-specific maintenance window
SCE distinguishes maintenance work from wildfire-related Public Safety Power Shutoffs and emergency rotating outages. Read the utility’s outage-type explanations, then use your notice and SCE’s official outage-status service for your address. A battery-app event is not a utility alert.
For example, suppose your own notice identifies a Wednesday daytime interruption. Before choosing an app duration, write down:
- The notice’s date, Pacific start time and estimated end time.
- When you intend to check actual battery charge before work begins.
- Who will review the battery event if SCE changes the window.
This is a planning example, not a verified local outage. Avoid treating a timer’s expiration as proof that utility power has returned.
Check stored energy and supported circuits separately
A preparation setting cannot add backup circuits or remove equipment limits. Ordinary grid-tied solar alone generally stops supplying the home during an outage. A compatible solar-and-battery backup installation can supply supported loads and recharge from solar when conditions permit; stored energy and available output remain finite. Tesla’s outage guidance explains load management and solar charging.
Ask for a runtime estimate using your actual starting charge and essential loads. A refrigerator, internet equipment and lights require a different plan from air conditioning and vehicle charging. Keep an alternative plan for needs the system cannot support.
Put the control handoff in your PPA discussion
A suitable solar-plus-battery PPA can help an eligible homeowner obtain supported backup equipment without buying the system upfront. Confirm that the specific offer includes backup hardware, homeowner app access and a person to contact about unavailable controls.
No upfront payment depends on qualification and the written offer. The provider owns the equipment; ongoing PPA payments, possible escalators, battery charges and remaining utility charges still matter. Review the term, maintenance, replacement and transfer provisions using the CPUC solar guide. Grid charging also uses purchased electricity; savings are not guaranteed.
Ask West Coast Alternatives about a home-specific solar-and-battery consultation, including an equipment handoff that shows who can manage preparation settings and how to verify readiness.