LADWP to ‘Model’ Distributing Station Options, Discuss with Community Members Going Forward

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

After hosting a well-attended virtual scoping meeting regarding a proposed Marquez Knolls distributing station, representatives from Los Angeles Department of Water and Power announced at the January 26 Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting that it would be modeling options before returning to the community and moving forward with the project.

“I wanted to let you know tonight that we acknowledge everything that you have told us—we’re taking in all your concerns, all your letters, everything—and safety is important to us,” LADWP Director of Environmental Affairs Katherine Rubin said. “We hear your concerns, so we’re not ignoring you in any way, but we also do have a grid reliability issue here in the Palisades community, and in order to provide electric reliability to this community, we will need a DS station.”

In lieu of making a planned presentation about the proposed Marquez station, Rubin reported that LADWP would “model” options and come back with “several options and work with [the] community, and then move forward with the project.”

“LADWP is stopping the current environmental review process and withdrawing its Notice of Preparation for the new distributing station needed in Pacific Palisades,” LADWP Media Relations Manager Ellen Cheng said to the Palisadian-Post on Tuesday, January 31. “This will allow our staff more time to identify additional alternative sites and evaluate the feasibility of using the most advanced technology and the potential for building it underground.”

While LADWP reported that it would not be taking any potential locations off the table, the agency will be looking at all options and alternative sites, including “studying vacant lots, public land and rights of way.”

“Ultimately, we will need the community’s help and support to find a suitable location or locations that have support while ensuring power reliability for the Palisades,” Cheng concluded.

Councilmember Traci Park reported in a statement that she had asked LADWP to halt plans for the project “until we have assessed every location,” a decision that was made “in response to the growing concerns expressed by the local community.”

“I appreciate DWP’s willingness to work with our office and the community to prioritize the safety and wellbeing of our neighborhoods,” Park said in the statement. “We are committed to finding a solution that benefits everyone.”

In November 2022, LADWP proposed to build Distributing Station 104 to “meet the current and expected increase in power demand” and “provide reliable electricity” to the Palisades. LADWP Assistant Director Eric Montag said the Marquez lot was purchased in 1970 with the sole purpose of establishing a future distributing station—plans for a distributing station in the area have been a topic of concern since then.

LADWP had planned to start construction of a second distributing station on the Marquez lot in July 1972 but shelved the project for unknown reasons, according to a 2013 Palisadian-Post article. Officials revisited the idea again decades later, running a site evaluation that earned the Marquez lot an “F” grade in geology and soil.

During the PPCC meeting several board and community members expressed concerns over the proposed DS-104, citing things like past site evaluations and a history of instability in the canyon area.

Another comment prompted PPCC Chair Maryam Zar to pose the question: “Why is [Marquez] back on the table if 10 years ago it was going to be not on the table?”

“Many of us were not there 10 years ago,” Rubin responded, “so we need to come back and look at this.”

Rubin said that LADWP was “going to start right away” on finding options, then “going to come back” at a future date to work with the community.

“We’re really going to evaluate all your concerns and bring back options and work together,” Rubin said. “We do want to hear from you.”

For more information and the latest updates, visit ladwp.com/ds104.