Rancho Palos Verdes residents in landslide zone facing another major utility shutoff

RPV homes without gas could lose electricity next

The shutoff would impact more than 130 homes in the Portuguese Bend community. Residents facing the gas shutoffs will get $2,500 from SoCalGas, but homeowners argued it was far from enough.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. - An ongoing land movement crisis in Rancho Palos Verdes is leaving residents scrambling for gas as they face a planned shutoff.

Dozens of residents in the Portuguese Bend community attended a landslide neighborhood meeting two days after gas service was disrupted due to ongoing land movement. The three-hour neighborhood meeting held at the Ladera Linda Community Center was also live-streamed due to the anticipated high volume of attendees. The shutoff would impact more than 130 homes.

The same residents impacted by the natural gas shut-off learned they are now facing another major utility outage from SoCal Edison which provides power to the neighborhood.

"We are seeing conditions in the field that we have not seen before that could potentially lead to service disconnection," said SoCal Edison Government Relations Manager Celina Luna.

Residents facing the gas shutoffs will get $2,500 from SoCalGas. However, homeowners argued it was far from enough. Residents expressed frustration over the short notice about the gas disruption and how a power outage will be an even bigger challenge to face, especially for the neighborhood’s senior community members.

"I'm going to have to get a couple of new hot water heaters and I'm going to have to figure out a new heating system," said Bill Hunter, a homeowner, told FOX 11 earlier in the week.

"We did the math. If I needed to replace all the gas appliances in the house it's $20,000," homeowner Tom Keefer told FOX 11 earlier in the week.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn agreed. She said during a meeting earlier in the week that she is encouraging SoCalGas to provide more help for the residents facing gas shutoffs.

Rancho Palos Verdes residents facing gas cutoffs

Rancho Palos Verdes residents are in danger of being without gas as the area deals with a land movement crisis, which could mean landslides.

"We need to start ordering generators and whatever we need to keep those dewatering wells energized because the dewatering wells are what we need to help stabilize this landslide," said Rancho Palos Verdes City Manager Ara Mihranian.

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Earlier in the week, Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John Cruikshank said he was hoping to have service temporarily restored for about 30 days to give residents time to prepare. The City of Rancho Palos Verdes has been in a local state of emergency since it was declared in October of 2023.

Geologists estimate the ground in the area is moving a foot each week, while many of the streets have been buckling and underground pipes have been compromised because of the ongoing land movement.