RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. — Despite protests from residents and city officials, SoCalGas planned to cut off natural gas service Monday to 135 homes in the Portuguese Bend community of Rancho Palos Verdes due to concerns about land movement that started more than a year ago.
The gas company notified residents Friday that they will indefinitely lose gas service at 9 a.m. Monday. Gas company officials said the area "continues to experience significant new land movement damaging roads, homes and further threatening the safety of SoCalGas' infrastructure." Land movement has increased following the heavy rains that impacted the area starting in the spring of 2023.
Residents spent the weekend hustling to find propane and electric alternatives so they could stay in their homes, according to the city of Rancho Palos Verdes. The city was not ordering evacuations because no gas leaks have been detected and continued to request a delay to give residents more time to secure gas alternatives.
"There are residents with babies, and some with elderly spouses in diapers who need access to hot water," the city said in an update.
City officials and residents pressed SoCalGas to delay the shutoff to give people more time to make alternative arrangements. The Gas Co, however, would not relent.
The utility did announce Monday that it is providing all impacted customers with $2,500 to help them secure alternatives.
"We know this is difficult for the community, especially given the current uncertainty about future natural gas service and the continued land movement," SoCalGas Senior Vice President and Chief Infrastructure Officer Rodger Schwecke said in a statement. "We want to help our customers meet some of their immediate needs, whether that's laundry or meals, or to help residents with longer term appliance choices."
The city notified residents in February that "Movement in the Portuguese Bend, Abalone Cove and Klondike Canyon landslides (referred to as `the landslide complex') has accelerated by a factor of three to four times in just the past few months compared to the entire previous year."
Since spring 2023, the city has seen a significant increase in movement that has resulted in roadway damage and the red-tagging of two homes that were damaged severely enough to be dangerous to inhabit. The land movement has also caused water and gas distribution pipes to break, displaced sanitary sewer collection pipes and made utility poles lean. On Oct. 3, 2023, the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council declared a local state of emergency, which was renewed on May 8.
SoCalGas officials said the utility has already relocated more than 600 feet of pipeline due to the land movement, and installed an isolation valve to quickly shut off gas in the community in the event of an emergency. The company has also stepped up leak inspections, although none are known to have been reported.
City officials said in a statement Sunday that there are no known plans by any other utility providers, such as Southern California Edison, Cal Water and the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, to cut off service.