A month after gas was shut off for a Rancho Palos Verdes neighborhood due to shifting land, Southern California Edison (SCE) announced it will disconnect power indefinitely to several homes.
SCE said 140 residential customers will lose power beginning Sunday afternoon due to accelerated land movement. The utility company said it must stop servicing the area to keep the public safe.
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“We know this is a difficult time for Rancho Palos Verdes and we’ve been looking for ways that we can keep the power flowing,” SCE spokesperson Gabriela Ornelas said in a statement. “At this point, land movement in Rancho Palos Verdes has created such a dangerous situation that we must make the difficult decision to disconnect power indefinitely to keep that community safe.”
A fire that took place Thursday near Narcissa Drive showed SCE that it could not “mitigate the public safety risk from the land movement in the area."
In wake of the impending shutoff, an SCE customer care vehicle will be in the area of Fruit Tree Road and Narcissa Drive to offer support to customers. SCE did not say what alternatives residents can take once their power has stopped.
Residents of the Portuguese Bend Community have not had gas for a month following SoCalGas’ decision to stop service due to worsening land movement. In July, the company said it had monitored land movement in the area for several months and concluded it was no longer service to provide service.
Following the halt in gas service, a city council meeting was held in which geologists shared that the shifting land was worse than thought. Scientists found the land was moving deeper and wider in a more accelerated manner than originally thought.
SCE said power will stop beginning at 12 p.m. Sunday.
