Politics & Government

LADWP GM Releases Statement About Pali Power Station

The statement addresses the department's proposal for a second power station in Pacific Palisades.

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power General Manager Ronald Nichols released a statement Tuesday about the location of a second power station in Pacific Palisades.

The department has been evaluating locations for an additional station due to increased power demand in the Palisades area. The LADWP proposed two sites for the second station. One location is behind , which would mean LADWP would have to buy state park land. The second location is on Marquez Avenue, next to .

In his statement, Nichols said he realized there was "significant concern" over the LADWP-owned property near Marquez Elementary, adding that other options and alternatives are being considered. He also noted that the department is very early in the process and that "no site has been 'selected,' and no decision has been made."

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

Nichols' entire statement is as follows:

Statement by Los Angeles Department of Water & Power General Manager Ronald O. Nichols Regarding the Siting of Distributing Station 104 in Pacific Palisades

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

Additional Sites and Alternate Approaches Being Reviewed

As many residents of the Pacific Palisades are aware, the LADWP is currently working to identify a location for a new power distributing station (DS) in the Palisades. This is necessary due to the fact that DS 29, which serves the area, is working at its designed capacity with the more intense power demand on a per customer basis that has occurred over the years in this part of Los Angeles. With customer electricity demand increasing in this community, an additional station will be necessary somewhere in the Palisades area for LADWP to meet future load demand of customers in this area.  LADWP has proposed the construction of a new power station, DS 104, to serve this need.

Over the past month, significant concern has been expressed regarding building DS 104 on LADWP-owned property near Marquez Charter School, on Marquez Avenue. We are aware of and sensitive to the community concerns and want to make it clear to everyone that additional potential sites are being identified and are under evaluation.  Our power system is also exploring potential alternate system modification approaches that could be used to meet customer electricity demand in the area. We want to stress that this evaluation is in an early stage. There are many technical, environmental, safety and financial issues that require careful consideration to make a decision based on complete information.  When developing any power distribution upgrades to serve our customers, finding suitable sites is a challenge. No site presently under consideration will be removed from evaluation until all have been studied in more detail. However, until the site selection process is complete, please be assured that no site has been “selected”, and no decision has been made.  The approach we are taking is deliberative and consistent with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act.

We are committed to working with the community and with Councilmember Bill Rosendahl to find a solution to this issue in a manner that balances providing reliable power safely, affordably and in an environmentally suitable manner.

  • For the statement on the LADWP website, click here.
  • For the full story from a community meeting at Marquez Elementary regarding the station on April 16, .
  • For a television report from KCAL 9 about the April 16 community meeting regarding the station,.
  • For the story about Zimmer calling for the April 16 community meeting, click here.
  • For more reaction from a Feb. 29 town hall meeting,.
  • For information about the Coalition of Palisadians to Keep Marquez Charter School Safe, click here.
  • For information about a petition written by a local attorney about the Marquez Elementary site, click here.


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