Many of you have seen the DWP work crews around the Oaks off and on since early this spring. As announced at our annual meeting in March, the DWP is upgrading the electrical system in the neighborhood in several phases. We asked The DWP’s Transmission & Distribution District Supervisor, Jay Puklavetz, for an update.

The focus right now is on the high-voltage lines that feed the four distribution circuits the homes in the Oaks are connected to. While each of those circuits has its own supply lines, they can also interconnect. This means if there’s a problem with the supply in one circuit it can be fed from another direction.

At the northern end of Phase 1 on Live Oaks East, where the distribution line comes up from below.

A major cause of power outages last summer was the failure of an underground feeder line between the intersection of Western & Franklin and Live Oaks East above the American Film Institute. Replacing that line constituted the first of five phases of upgrades, and it has been completed. The redesign and replacement of the overhead high-voltage lines on Canyon Drive between Canyon Cove and Spring Oak was Phase 2 and is now also completed. Many homes on that stretch of Canyon got new service connections at the same time. They are of the newer and more robust triplex type that combines all three wires into one strand. As part of this phase many transformers were also upgraded with a larger operating capacity.

Work on Phase 3 is scheduled to begin this month and will take six to eight months to complete. The plans for Phase 5 are complete and work is to start in June of 2008. Both these phases will entail replacement of underground distribution lines. Those lines have been in place since the area was originally developed, which would peg their age to around seventy years or more. Because the DWP strives to keep everyone connected at all times, a lot of the work is done “hot”, while the lines are energized and the power is on. This is often impossible in the confined spaces of the underground vaults and conduits which house the power lines and transformers that DWP technicians will be working on in phases 3 and 5. It doesn’t help that in the Oaks there is only one conduit per line.  In newer neighborhoods, conduits are always done in pairs, one for the lines, plus a spare.

Mr. Puklavetz hopes that replacing the underground lines will be as easy as pulling them out and pulling new ones into place.  But based on his extensive experience with projects like the one in the Oaks, he does anticipate some problems. Over the decades the ground has appreciably shifted in many areas and trees may have put roots into conduits. This means that there will likely be some digging and open-trench work.

An underground electricity vault in Oaks, probably installed in the 1930’s. B.P. & L. stands for “Bureau of Power and Lighting”. The ground has quite visibly shifted over the years.

Of course the DWP knows that this will be an inconvenience for anyone using the narrow streets of The Oaks. While underground work is underway, temporary overhead lines will keep the juice flowing to the affected homes. The DWP strives to keep disruptions to a minimum and promises to keep everyone informed ahead of time. However, if you have any concerns about the work, you can contact both the Oaks Homeowners Association and the DWP’s Jay Puklavetz by sending an email to power-upgrade@oakshome.org. Mr. Puklavetz can also be reached by phone at 213-367-6420.

Plans for Phase 4 are currently designed, and the actual work is scheduled to begin in November. In this phase a high-voltage line feeding Beachwood Canyon will be upgraded. The Oaks will benefit by way of improved reliability and capacity of a neighboring circuit which can be tapped into in case of a failure.

On a side-note, Mr. Puklavetz mentioned the decision to have the power lines put in above or below ground was up to the original developer of the tract. Overhead lines are obviously cheaper both to put in, as well as to maintain. Nowadays the city mandates power lines to be installed underground in new developments. While it is possible to move power lines from overhead to underground, it is also quite expensive. The cost has to be borne entirely by the property owners.

Overall the power upgrade project is progressing on schedule. Some parts of the distribution system in the Oaks have reached the end of their useful lives and are due to be replaced, and they will be. The new lines will offer improved reliability, as well as about three times the previous capacity. That’s really nothing to frown upon!

Yes, we will be annoyed by the occasional power disruption and by some open trenches, but we still owe thanks to the folks that make this happen. That would, of course, be the DWP, including their own crews as well as their contractors, as well as our DWP Liaison,  Jay Puklavetz. We should hold them to their promise to be as considerate as possible, and to be as least disruptive as possible, but at the same time we should do whatever we can to help them do their job. Finally, we should not forget to thank our Councilmember, Tom LaBonge and his staff for their help in getting this project started.

The future in the Oaks promises to be brighter and more powerful than ever!