The first home in the Palisades has electrical wires coming from the back yard. It does not have a combo panel that would allow undergrounding. It is up to the owner to make sure they are ready or they will have overhead wires, such as these.
The Pacific Palisades Infrastructure Committee, chaired by Reza Akef, met with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on December 11 and came away with specific information about the future of the undergrounding of electrical power lines in Pacific Palisades.
DWP committed (letter below) to undergrounding to this Palisades Community Council subcommittee, but also noted that there may be some areas or terrain where it is not feasible.
The Alphabet Streets are currently scheduled to be the site of the first place of underground electrical wires after the January 7 Fire in Pacific Palisades.
Those who are rebuilding or planning to rebuild should have contractors install residential service panels, known as “combo panels,” which provide both overhead and underground service entrances. Contractors should also run an underground conduit 30 inches below gutter grade to the front of the property line where DWP crews will be able to connect later.
This is important because for those property owners that do not install that combo panel, then overhead service will remain.
The first completed home in Pacific Palisades in the Alphabet Streets at 915 Kagawa, a Thomas James home, did not have the combination panel. https://www.circlingthenews.com/palisades-first-home-lacks-undergrounding-capacity-how-many-more/ In that story, Akef said that the cost to add it is between $6,000 to $10,000, depending on the distance of the meter to the property line.
To pay for the Pacific Palisades Undergrounding project, LADWP is seeking federal and state funding. The utility company is developing a timeline for when work will begin and expects to have it ready by February 2026 to share with the Committee and the community.
Akef said, “The PPCC Infrastructure Committee has been persistent and a dedicated voice in our pursuit of a ‘Single Line of Truth’ from DWP for the future resilience of the Palisades.
“It is vital for so many of our neighbors to know that the electrical undergrounding is going to happen and where, so they can plan their lives,” he said. “The LADWP statement is a first step toward a more transparent commitment to the undergrounding effort. There is still long road ahead, but we feel better about it now.”
In addition to Akef, who is also a local builder, other members of the committee include Kimberly Bloom, Allison Holdorff, Kambiz Kamdar and May Sung. PPCC President Sue Kohl and Justin Skagg (advisor) are non-voting members.
Good reporting and information as always. But what about telephone and internet service? It is my understanding these utilities must be put underground at the same time in order to get rid of the poles? What is your information about this?
“To pay for the Pacific Palisades Undergrounding project, LADWP is seeking federal and state funding.”
They are still seeking funding??? That’s the biggest hurdle to getting this done!
LADWP said in Traci Park’s townhall meeting that they were “hopeful” that all of the communications providers on the poles (Frontier, Spectrum, Verizon, TMobile, Crown-Castle) would be able to move underground as well. Hope to hear something on that sometime, as well as DWP’s charges for individual connections to the underground, beyond just the costs of panels and conduit on our own properties.
Honestly, while under-grounding utilities in the Palisades would be nice, there’s probably more of a threat from overhead utilities on the other side of the mountains in Encino, Tarzana, and Woodland Hills.
Are these sort of meetings in private session? Often they’re only known after-the-fact.
Thank you to Reza and the Pacific Palisades Infrastructure Committee!