Undergrounding Plans Shared at Mar. 26 LADWP Webinar
A Mar. 26 webinar by the LA Department of Water & Power provided updates on the undergrounding plans for Pacific Palisades.
The full webinar can be found here. A sampling of slides from the webinar, which was organized by City Councilmember Traci Park’s office, is attached below.
Currently, Rustic and Santa Monica Canyon are scheduled for electric utility undergrounding beginning in the fourth quarter of 2028 with the work continuing through the fourth quarter of 2029, according to LADWP. The entire undergrounding of the Palisades would tentatively end with Castellammare in the first quarter of 2030.
The current electric distribution system in the Palisades includes 27 miles of existing undergrounding with 45 miles of overhead utilities that are planned to be moved underground where feasible, according to LADWP. The project is slated for completion in 2031.
Below is more information about the project courtesy of Sue Pascoe and Circling the News:
Dave Hansen, interim director of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, was a key figure in presenting information and answering questions to the nearly 350 people attending the meeting, which was orchestrated by Pacific Palisades Community Council’s infrastructure committee headed by Reza Akef.
Hansen said that many Paliisadians may have noticed the undergrounding that was already going on under Sunset. He said that operation was temporarily halted when a fatality occurred.
“DWP terminated that contract, and hired someone else,” he said. That Sunset construction should resume in the second quarter of 2026 (next month). “We’re hiring 116 new design engineers for the Palisades.”
For undergrounding to occur, a portion of the equipment must go above ground, which would mean an easement would be needed about every 10 homes. During the question phase, people wanted to know if their lots would be impacted because it would go with planning the gates/fences/landscaping. “When the design phase comes. It takes time,” was the answer. A resident asked whether there was a front DWP easement that could be used instead of private land.
“Yes, but most of the easements for electrical and communication wires are in the back of properties,” DWP replied.
Additionally, DWP is working with the telecom companies to have them trench wires, too. If they don’t, there will still be poles with wires on lots.
The utility company plans to increase the system capacity by upgrading Distribution Station 29, at the corner of Sunset and Via de la Paz. When that station is upgraded the two pole top distribution stations (at Marquez and Sunset and Temescal and Sunset), which currently carry high voltage will be taken down. That construction will tentatively take place from the second quarter in 2028 through 2031. A second distribution station will not be needed.
The plan is to start with undergrounding in the Alphabet Streets in the first quarter of 2027 and take about a year. DWP’s Teodore Zeiss said that area was selected because of the extensive damage and the proximity to DS 29. That area will be followed by the Huntington Palisades and the Via de las Olas bluffs. The final area to receive undergrounding will be the Castellammare area and Sunset Mesa.
A resident wanted to know the steps needed to get underground utilities to a property.
) Put in a combo panel, 2.) run a conduit to the street, and 3.) put in an online request to meet with DWP about placement of both. Or one can go to the Palisades (PIPSC) and speak to someone there for help.
A common question in the chat was: How much will this cost residents?
DWP put in a request to FEMA to help with the costs, which are estimated at about $1.8 million, but the initial request was rejected. DWP appealed last week, and the government has 90 days to respond. DWP’s Oliver Griffen asked residents to write their senators and legislators to urge them to make sure this project gets federal funding. On the Community Council website, https://pacpalicc.org/, a sample letter will soon be available. . Infrastructure committee member May Sung suggested that perhaps insurance companies might be convinced to fund the expense as a code upgrade.
If FEMA funds don’t arrive, DWP will try to cover the cost to underground utilities because they can’t charge individual ratepayers, according to PPCC’s Akef.
In the chat, one person wanted to know when electricity was turned off during the Palisades Fire, which was not answered, but residents were assured that remote switching would now be possible. When one resident said the transformers exploded during the fire, Hansen said, “We have no indication that our equipment started the fire.”
DWP plans to return to the PPCC in April to speak about water and the reservoirs.
