May cost owners up to $2,000 for final connection to underground utilities
By Ken Gale/Special to The Malibu Times
For the past four years, Southern California Edison has been laying underground conduits along a short stretch of Pacific Coast Highway in order to get rid of unsightly overhead wires. The undergrounding affects some 75 addresses in a stretch of about three-fifths of a mile from west of Carbon Canyon Road to just east of the Malibu Pier. About half are private homes. The others are apartment buildings, motels and small businesses. The cost of the project is $2.95 million, to be paid by what are called Rule 20A funds. Rule 20A is a California Public Utilities Commission provision that requires power companies to levy a small fee on its customers for the removal of overhead wires in areas of high traffic or public use. Property owners have been told by the City of Malibu they now have to do their part by installing-at their own expense-devices on their properties that will connect the underground wiring to power meters, telephones and television sets. As well as Edison’s power lines, the underground conduits will also carry Verizon phone lines and Charter Communications cables. The cost of the connectors to property owners ranges from $500 to $2,000, depending on the size of the home, according to an Edison spokesman and Malibu city engineer Rick Morgan. But to date, fewer than half the property owners have complied despite past mailings, newspaper advertisements and a town meeting, Morgan said, and so the city has served them a new 30-day notice to get the job done. After that, the city has authorized the utilities to go ahead and install the connectors, and homeowners will be assessed the cost on their tax bills.
That does not mean owners will get a sharp knock on the door on day 31, Morgan said. “It’s just meant as a friendly reminder that they need to act,” he explained, adding, “Some residents may prefer just to have the utilities take care of it for them.” Edison area manager Mark Olsen said Edison’s cost would be competitive with other contractors. After all the connectors are in place and hooked up, the next step is for the utility companies to take down the power poles. Morgan says he hopes to have it all done by spring of next year. But he said it couldn’t be done until there is 100 percent compliance by all residences. “We won’t take down a single pole if there’s even one person still not connected underground,” he said. More information can be obtained by calling: Mark Nail, Southern California Edison, 805.654.7303; Kevin Ryan, Verizon, 805.388.2232; Brent Smith, Charter Communications, 310.456.9010; Rick Morgan, Malibu city engineer, 456.2489 ext. 247