SCE undergrounding halted over lack of city permits Play

Some residents are furious that the City of Malibu has shut down a project to put power lines underground on Latigo Canyon Road.

The city says it was forced to act because Southern California Edison did not get permits to park its trucks on a vacant lot. A neighbor raised a noise complaint, and the contracting company was told to stop work on the project, pack up its gear, and pull out.

The undergrounding project is intended to reduce fire danger from power lines. Fire season has already started. The work to install the underground conduits and large vaults on Latigo Canyon Road is 75% done, but the electric cables have not yet been pulled through them. The project is on hold while Southern California Edison gets permits for its temporary parking lot.

An SCE spokesman told KBUU the utility company has already given up its lease on its temporary storage yard down at the Malibu Civic Center on Malibu Canyon Road at PCH, and they're struggling to find yet another location to store its trucks here in Malibu.