DWP To Spend $1 Million Replacing Transformers

Pacific Palisades residents have been complaining about the unsightly chain-link fence next to the Department of Water and Power building at Sunset and Via de la Paz. What these concerned citizens don’t realize is that residents in the condominiums on Albright Street, directly behind the DWP building, had a more serious complaint: a loud, humming vibration 24 hours a day. Last spring, fed-up residents complained to Councilman Bill Rosendahl that the noise emanating from Distributing Station No. 29 seemed excessive. Rosendahl’s field deputy Andrea Epstein contacted DWP, which sent investigators who found that the noise level indeed exceeded the normal range specified in the Los Angeles Municipal Code. In order to rectify the situation, the transformer bank, which consists of three single-phase transformers, needed to be replaced with special transformers that produce low noise. The building also needed insulation. About $400,000 has since been spent to soundproof the building (which was completed in March), place the temporary transformers and design the installation. New transformers cost $165,000, and installation and cleanup will push the projected cost to about $1 million. In April, in order to ensure there was no disruption of electrical service to the Palisades, a temporary 12-ft.-high, three-phase transformer, with the capacity to replace the single-phase transformers, was set alongside the building and an eight-foot-high fence placed around it. The temporary transformer has the same noise level as the current one. Originally, the entire process was expected to be completed in early June, but is now projected for mid-July, because the new transformers have to be repainted, according to DWP spokesperson Darlene Battle. ‘It appears that they were not adequately protected during the transportation process,’ Battle said. ‘This was something that was not anticipated and we’re working on it as quickly as we can.’