UPDATE 9/19/2024
SoCalGas to Support Palos Verdes Peninsula Relief Efforts
Over the last several months, significant land movement in the Portuguese Bend, Portuguese Bend Beach Club and parts of the Seaview communities have made it unsafe for SoCalGas to continue providing natural gas service to some residents in those areas.
Most recently, following a recent geological hazard survey and an incident with the water system, SoCalGas determined that recent and potential land movement have made it unsafe to continue providing natural gas service for 37 homes in the City of Rolling Hills.
If your natural gas service has been turned off, please do not attempt to restore service yourself, or to connect alternative fuels like propane to your natural gas meter. Doing so is unsafe. Before connecting alternative fuels like propane to your home’s natural gas plumbing, please consult a licensed professional.
SoCalGas will continue to coordinate with first responders, city officials and third-party experts monitoring and responding to dynamic land movement conditions. Residents in the above communities may see SoCalGas representatives working in their areas to monitor conditions or to assess its natural gas infrastructure in the area.
In support of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes’ and the City of Rolling Hills’ efforts to establish a relief fund for residents impacted by recent land movement, SoCalGas recently announced the company will donate $50,000 to the Palos Verdes Peninsula Rotary Foundation.
HOW TO REACH US
For customer service inquiries, please contact us at 1-877-238-0092 or email us at projectinfo@socalgas.com.
If you suspect a natural gas leak, please don’t wait - call us immediately at 1-800-427-2200
FAQ
What areas are affected?
- The land movement in certain areas of the Palos Verdes Peninsula remains dynamic and SoCalGas is actively monitoring conditions as they evolve. We understand this remains a difficult situation for the community.
- Communities there sit on top of a geologically active zone, which consists of four active landslides impacting the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Although Rolling Hills and Rancho Palos Verdes are separate and distinct municipalities with different geographical locations, the two cities are similarly impacted by the four active landslides.
Will service be restored?
- Unfortunately, we do not know when it will be safe to restore service in these areas but will continue to evaluate our ability to serve impacted homes.
- SoCalGas continues to coordinate our work with City leaders, public safety agencies and others responding to the ongoing land movement.
- SoCalGas personnel will inform the community and contact customers when restoration of service is safe to operate our infrastructure.
Could additional areas require gas service shutoffs?
- Unfortunately, we do not know. Parts of the Palos Verdes Peninsula continue to experience significant new land movement damaging roads, homes and further threatening the safety of SoCalGas’ infrastructure.
- SoCalGas continues to take steps to minimize the impacts to natural gas service caused by land movement, where possible. However, if we identify potential safety concerns with the natural gas infrastructure serving your community, SoCalGas may be required to turn off natural gas service to protect public safety. If service shutoffs are required, we will notify you as quickly as possible.
- SoCalGas will continue to coordinate with first responders, city officials and third-party experts monitoring and responding to dynamic land movement conditions.
- SoCalGas will also continue to provide updates to customers and local city officials on its efforts to safeguard natural gas infrastructure for customers.
Why is this happening now?
- The land movement in certain areas of the Palos Verdes Peninsula remains dynamic and SoCalGas is actively monitoring conditions as they evolve.
- SoCalGas technical and operational personnel, and third-party experts, have been closely monitoring land movement in the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Beginning in approximately November of 2023 and through the winter season, heavy precipitation in the area resulted in increasingly active land movement which has been continuing.
- The movement, which may be moving up to 4.5 feet per month in some areas, has significantly compromised the safe operation of the natural gas pipelines serving certain areas in the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
- Recent geological hazard surveys have shown that pipelines located within the active landslide area are experiencing a high degree of stress due to the ground disturbance and a recent water main break demonstrates the strain on buried infrastructure such as our natural gas infrastructure.
- Further, based on geotechnical data recently obtained by SoCalGas, multiple sections of underground gas pipeline within the affected area of the City of Rolling Hills, including in the location of the recent water main break, are within an active landslide area that is exhibiting a high degree of ground movement from differential land movement. This data indicates that SoCalGas’s infrastructure in the area is presently under significant stress caused by a high degree of land movement.
- In addition, performing daily leak surveys are not adequate to act as a predictor to identify a potential pipeline breakage within these geologically active areas.
- A gas main line break in the Seaview community of RPV on August 30, 2024, necessitated shutting off gas service to 23 homes using a shutoff valve that SoCalGas installed due to land movement in the area. This main break, caused by sudden tensile overload, resulted in about 5 inches of separation between the broken ends of the line.
- Of note, SoCalGas was performing daily leak surveys in this area. However, there were no gas leaks detected prior to the sudden main break, so leaks do not seem to be predictive of larger main breaks.
- Areas impacted only have one pipeline to feed them and lack alternative means to deliver natural gas that would avoid the landslide zones.
- These observations and assessments made by our personnel require that we discontinue service to these areas to promote the safety of the community.
- SoCalGas regrets the need to shut off service at this time and is continuing to monitor the ongoing land movement in the community with the intent of restoring gas service if and when it may be reasonably safe to do so.
Will I receive financial assistance for having my service disconnected?
- SoCalGas will be donating $50,000 to the Palos Verdes Peninsula Rotary Foundation to help establish a relief fund for residents impacted by recent land movement in the City of Rancho Palos Verdes and the City of Rolling Hills.
- In July, SoCalGas also provided one-time assistance payment to the impacted residents to assist with meeting immediate needs and potentially transitioning to alternative sources of energy.
- Since then, the dynamic and fast-changing land movement on the Palos Verdes Peninsula has entered a new phase, prompting several decisive actions to protect affected residents and business owners:
- Southern California Edison has shut off electric service to hundreds of homes in the Portuguese Bend and Seaview areas, some indefinitely.
- The City of Rancho Palos Verdes issued an evacuation warning for the Portuguese Bend Community Association telling residents that they should, “prepare to evacuate and seek alternative housing.”
- Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for the City of Rancho Palos Verdes due to increasing land movement and utilities’ increasing inability to safely serve portions of the community.
Will I still receive a SoCalGas Bill?
- You will not be billed for gas service for the period when it’s unavailable to you.
- SoCalGas will forgive the current bill for impacted account holders. Customers with an account credit will receive a refund.