Politics & Government

LADWP Asks Pali Task Force to Narrow Down Substation Site List

The task force meets this week to prioritize the potential site for a new substation in western Pacific Palisades based on constraints and financial impact. Links on LADWP's website to DS 104 have been created.

DS 104 Task Force members ranked more than a dozen possible alternative sites to install a new substation in the western half of Pacific Palisades, per the request of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The task force meets again this Wednesday night in closed session to review those rankings and prioritize the sites based on their known constraints and financial impact.

Members Jim Rea and Kelly Comras, who are also the Area 3 and Area 1 represenatives to the Pacific Palisades Community Council, gave an update last Thursday night to the meeting. The task force already learned last month they could not hire an independent energy consultant to help with the process. 

Rea said Pali's western zone, as drawn out by LADWP, extends through Sunset Mesa to the county borderline. Distribtion station 29 is provides distribution service to the eastern portion and the load center for DS 104 is at the approximate center of the western section.

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The fundamental argument for the need for another substation is that DS 29 has been operating at levels over design capacity since 2004 and, at its peak in 2010, has reached levels above 33 percent over capacity, Rea said. DS 29 can operate at those levels but not without a toll on equipment and long-term reliability, and Rea added that LADWP indicated that load growth is increasing at a rate of 1 percent per year. Given the protracted amount of time to build a new substation, estimated at 5.5 years, the task force learned the LADWP has to proceed without delay in finding the new site.

LADWP reportedly told the task force they could go without building a new distribution station, and instead build lines from Station 29.

Find out what's happening in Pacific Palisadeswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"It would tear up Sunset and it's extremely expensive," Rea said. "They said it's something they don’t want to pursue."

The group viewed a large map of the area that outlined several possible sites, and task force members picked four to five possible sites they'd like more information on. Rea and Comras said the controversial proposed substation sites from the last year, like near Marquez Elementary School and the business district, "fell away" because no one in the room wanted to consider those. 

"We voted individually," Comras said. "They'll bring more information on the top-ranked four [sites]."

The suggested list of sites included:

  • Marquez Avenue between Sunset Boulevard and Bollinger Drive with five parcels on a 0.75-acre site.
  • Marquez Avenue between Sunset Boulevard and Bollinger Drive with seven parcels on a 1.14-acre site.
  • Sunset Boulevard south of Marquez Avenue with eight parcels on a 0.97-acre site.
  • 16931 Pacific Coast Highway on a 1.10-acre residential estate.
  • 16970 and 16948 Sunset Boulevard and 125 North Marquez Place on a 4.04-acre residential estate.
  • 16970 Sunset Boulevard on a 2.31-acre multi-family residential site. 
  • 16970 and 16948 Sunset Boulevard on a 0.53-acre single family lot.
  • 16990 Sunset Boulevard on a 0.95-acres multi-family residential lot. 
  • Sunset Boulevard, west of Marquez Avenue on a 0.98-acre multi-family residential.
  • 17060 Sunset Boulevard on a 1.11-acre multi-family residential lot.
  • 17311-17317 Sunset Boulevard on a 2.19-acres commercial and residential lot
  • 17315 and 17311 Sunset Boulevard on a 0.66-acre commercial site.
  • A 5.36-acre residential and open space site that's part of Topanga State Park.
  • Part of 383 North Via Maria on a 1.22-acre open space lot.
  • 300 Via Nicholas on a 0.99-acre residential estate.
  • 514 Palisades Drive on a 4.18-acre commercial strip mall site. 
  • 16931 Marquez Avenue on a 1.88-acre residential estate on LADWP-owned property.
  • A dead end on Via Santa Ynez on a 19.39-acre residential estate.

LADWP also reportedly informed the task force that since the sun doesn't shine at night, even though solar power greatly helps their system, it won't alleviate the need for DS 104. 

For more information about the DS 104 Task Force, click this link for all public materials: https://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/faces/ladwp/aboutus/a-power/a-p-projects/a-p-p-distributingstation?_adf.ctrl-state=q9xubl58x_4&_afrLoop=144340031697000


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