Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Movement

UPDATE 5/21/2025 

SoCalGas plans to begin the process of safely restoring natural gas service to some of the Palos Verdes Peninsula communities impacted by land movement last year.

Starting May 27, in the Seaview area of Rancho Palos Verdes, SoCalGas will begin upgrading and testing its infrastructure, after which technicians will go door-to-door on Dauntless, Exultant and Admirable Drives to complete the restoration of natural gas service for homeowners who want it and have homes ready to accept gas service. The construction and restoration of natural gas to the Seaview community is expected to take four to five weeks. Seaview homes along Palos Verdes Drive South will be evaluated for restoration afterward.

SoCalGas is also developing designs and implementation plans for restoring service in the affected communities of Portuguese Bend Beach Club and the City of Rolling Hills. Upon completion of the designs and plans, SoCalGas intends to proceed with the restoration process in those communities if the localized land movement conditions allow for safe resumption of service at that time.

“We are grateful to these communities for their patience during what we know has been a difficult time,” said Maria Martinez, director of gas engineering for SoCalGas. “Given the sustained decreases in land movement, we look forward to the safe restoration of natural gas service for those who are ready to reconnect.”

In 2024, accelerating land movement began significantly impacting utility infrastructure and homes located in communities in Rancho Palos Verdes and the City of Rolling Hills, requiring SoCalGas to shut off natural gas service to several homes to promote public safety.

The land movement in the Seaview, Portuguese Bend Beach Club and City of Rolling Hills communities has drastically slowed since October 2024. Extensive monitoring by SoCalGas and city partners over the past seven months shows that land movement in these communities is now minimal, with no measurable land movement in Seaview and Portuguese Bend Beach Club since February, and movement rates of .1 inches per week or less in the City of Rolling Hills. The Portuguese Bend community continues to experience significant and active land movement, making it unsafe for SoCalGas to reconnect service at this time.

All restoration plans are dependent upon sustained minimal land movement rates, which will continue to be monitored by SoCalGas and local partners.

What to Expect

Beginning May 27, SoCalGas plans to upgrade its infrastructure, which includes replacing portions of gas mains and services and installing additional safety equipment such as automatic shut-off valves, isolation valves, pipeline pressure monitors, and additional survey markers. The new and existing infrastructure will be tested and surveyed for leaks and then technicians will begin the work of restoring service to customers who want natural gas.

SoCalGas technicians will go door-to-door to restore service. If the customer requests to be serviced by SoCalGas and the home is natural gas ready, the technician will check the home for leaks and appliance compatibility with natural gas. Customers who have switched to alternative fuels or purchased new appliances to run on alternative fuels should consult a licensed professional to check if their appliances and houseline are ready for natural gas. SoCalGas cannot modify, repair, or install customer house lines. SoCalGas is also not authorized to pay to convert homes from alternative fuels to natural gas or for new appliances.

It is important for customers to know the following about the home restoration process:

• An adult over the age of 18 must be present during restoration.
• To restore your service, SoCalGas must have access to your meter and inside your residence to check the safety of your natural gas appliances.
• This process will take one to two hours.
• Never attempt to restore or turn on your natural gas service yourself.

SoCalGas will continue to monitor the safety of the natural gas system in Seaview through electronic pressure monitoring, land movement markers, and increased leak surveys. SoCalGas will also continue to coordinate with first responders, city officials and third-party experts monitoring and responding to dynamic land movement conditions. 

For customer service inquiries, please contact us at 1-877-238-0092 or email us at projectinfo@socalgas.com.

If you suspect a natural gas leak, please don’t wait - call us immediately at 1-800-427-2200.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are you reconnecting natural gas service to Seaview at this time, and not the other affected communities? Why are Seaview homes on Palos Verdes Drive South not a part of these initial reconnections?

Homes on Dauntless, Exultant and Admirable Drives in the Seaview community are eligible for natural gas service reconnection at this time due to having the greatest rate of land movement deceleration of all the affected communities. Since October 2024, the Seaview Community has seen no measurable land movement. Seaview homes on Palos Verdes Drive South are serviced by a different gas main than homes on Dauntless, Exultant and Admirable, and are being evaluated for restoration after the initial Seaview restorations.

When will homes in the Portuguese Bend community be reconnected?

We do not presently have a timeline for the potential restoration of natural gas service to the homes in the Portuguese Bend community due to the ongoing significant and active land movement making it unsafe for SoCalGas to reconnect service in the area. We are continuing to monitor land movement rates in the Portuguese Bend Community and surrounding areas.

What data is being used to determine where and when reconnections will take place?

SoCalGas has been working closely with the City of Rancho Palos Verdes and City of Rolling Hills to monitor land movement through city-installed survey read points. Further, we have installed 26 additional survey read points in the City of Rolling Hills to aid with monitoring and data collection. That’s in addition to measuring potential movement to above-ground swing joints and below-ground locations where SoCalGas had to shut off service, as well as testing underground sections of our pipelines throughout these neighborhoods to determine the impacts of land movement on our infrastructure.

All that data is being used to help build what is called a “pipe response model.” In short, this is a computer algorithm to help us determine the stress and strain on our pipeline infrastructure based on current and potential future land movement. That data and these models are helping us determine when it is safe to begin reconnections, how best to enhance the infrastructure, and where to implement our restoration plans.

What happens if land movement occurs after my service has been reconnected?

All restoration plans are dependent upon minimal land movement rates. Restoration efforts are provisional and based on localized conditions at each property. Increased land movement may necessitate future temporary shutoffs of natural gas service to homes to promote public safety.