Power & Energy
“The aqueduct did much more than quench the city’s thirst, it also brought power to Los Angeles.” [2]
During the building of the aqueduct, the LADWP brought online Los Angeles’s first power plant—located at Division Creek and built in 1905—to supply hydroelectric power for the aqueduct’s construction.
The Bureau of Los Angeles Aqueduct Power was established in 1909, with Ezra F. Scattergood named as chief electrical engineering. As William Mulhollan d’s counterpart for the Power System, Scattergood became the driving spirit in the development of the municipal electric system. [2]
1882
New form of lighting proposed by C.L. Howland, who represented California Electric Light Company.
Howland completes the city’s first electric light plant.
1883
Los Angeles becomes the first city to abandon gas for street lighting and replace it with electricity. There are a total of 242 streetlamps and 85 miles of circuit.
1893
Los Angeles Electric Company becomes the largest electric light and power plant in Southern California.
1907
The Kern River-Los Angeles Transmission Line is completed by Los Angeles Edison Electric. It is the world’s longest and highest voltage power line (188 miles and 75kV).
1908
Construction begins on the Los Angeles Aqueduct. LA’s first power plant is built at Division Creek in the Owens Valley and generates power from water to construct the LA Aqueduct.
1909
The Bureau of Los Angeles Aqueduct Power is created to build hydro power plants along the Aqueduct.
Ezra F. Scattergood is selected as the Bureau’s first chief electrical engineer.
1911
The Bureau begins construction of the San Francisquito Power Plant no. 1 to generate power from the anticipated water.
Pacific Light and Power Corporation begins building the hydroelectric plants in the Big Creek-San Joaquin section of the high Sierras in Central CA for power delivery to Southern California.
1917
Southern California Edison (previously Los Angeles Edison Electric) becomes the major private supplier of electricity in SoCal and Joaquin Valley, serving a population of 1.25 million.
1922
The Bureau purchases SCE’s distribution system within the city limits.
1933
The Los Angeles Bureau of Power and Light begins construction of the 266 miles long transmission line between Boulder Dam and Los Angeles.
1936
Construction of Hoover Dam and Boulder-Los Angeles transmission line are complete. Los Angeles receives first power from Boulder Dam.
1937
Bureau of Power and Light consolidates with Bureau of Water Works and Supply and becomes Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).
1939 to Present
DWP becomes the sole provider of power to the City of Los Angeles, while SCE supplied power to unincorporated areas within the County. [1]
IN LOS ANGELES, NEW INFRASTRUCTURES HAVE BECOME DIFFICULT, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE TO BUILD due to the staunch individualism of the city’s residents. Settled by self-sufficient loners—often having fled Eastern cities—the West has always been individualistic.
This individualism is a key factor toward Los Angeles’s antipathy toward the civic. Communal places to gather have always been lacking: there are few parks, squares, or plazas in Los Angeles. Open space is the province of the lawn, not a yard to occupy but a buffer against the street and adjoining neighbors (this is changing in neighborhoods like East Los Angeles as Mexican families fence off their yards, turning them into extended living areas). Trees are less for shade and more to demarcate subdivisions, giving identity to real estate schemes. [3]
TYPOLOGY
TRANSMISSION
STEEL TRANSMISSION TOWER
Steel lattice structure that supports high voltage cables over long distances.
Height can vary from 60’ to 180’. Voltage levels up to 500,000 volts.
Steel towers use 40,000 to 60,000 pounds of galvanized steel. [4][7]
WOODEN POLE
A wooden transmission tower that support cables usually near residential area. height can vary up to 75′.
Made of Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar and Southern Yellow Pine.
Over 100,000 transmission poles in LA County. [6][12]
TRANSFORMER
Transfers electricity, stepping the voltage up or down. Transformers can be located under or above ground, or on wooden poles.
CABLES
An assembly of wires which is used as an electrical conductor to carry electric current.
Over 15,000 miles of power lines and cables in LA County. [13]
STATISTICS
WEIGHT
HEAVY/SOLID
wood; Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar or Southern Yellow Pine grown in California, Washington State or Oregon
up to 75’ tall [6]
steel or aluminum
40,000 to 60,000 pounds of material
60’ to 180’ tall [7][8]
over 100,000 transmission poles and 15,000 miles of power lines in Los Angeles County. [12][13]
LIGHTWEIGHT/ABSENT
10’ of clearance from 50kV
up to 45’ of clearance from 1,000kV [10]
a high tension pole at 150’ tall occupies ~120,000 cubic feet of space.
DWP replaces approx. 2000 poles / year [11]
SOCIAL/INVISIBLE
AES Alamitos, natural gas
largest producer of C02 emission
~2,000,000 short tons of C02 / year. [5][9]
“Frankenstein presciently describes a technological creation that, without proper care, wreaks havoc. In this tale lies a moral about technology and compassionate responsibility. According to Latour, we confuse the monster for its creator and blame our sins against nature upon the things we’ve made.
BUT OUR SIN IS NOT THAT WE CREATED TECHNOLOGIES BUT THAT WE FAILED TO LOVE AND CARE FOR THEM. When Dr. Frankenstein meets his creation on a glacier in the Alps, the monster claims that it was not born a monster at all, but that it became destructive only after being left alone, abandoned in the laboratory by his horrified creator the moment he twitched to life. Latour argues that we cannot stop being involved in the world we created, and that political ecology must engage present technologies with patience and commitment.” [14]
—Rania Ghosn and El Hadi Jazairy, Geostories
Energy & Space Proposals
The space around power lines often sits empty, due to clearance restrictions. In a few cases, the space below is taken over by human activity, in the form of parks or nurseries. As the city plans or tries to move away from energy production via fossil fuels, we have the opportunity to rethink not just production, but also transmission and storage, and their intersection with human activity.
HOW IS THE WEIGHT DEFINED?
Existing power lines stretch for miles across the city with large clearance zones that leave the space below underutilized. Power production and transmission constantly intersect with human activity, yet energy infrastructure is given priority in urban planning.
As we transition away from fossil fuels and prepare for a future of power production via renewables, we need to reconsider demand, transmission and production. A critical question arises: what will happen to the vast spaces currently allocated for energy infrastructure, both now and in the future?
PROPOSAL OVERVIEW
The proposal engages the vacant space created as an externality of our current infrastructure, as we move into a future of renewables. Dispersed power production solves not only spatial issues but also transmission issues. The goal of this proposal is to create spaces that create engagement of the underutilized spaces as a result of power infrastructure via rezoning these areas, while also engaging the communities via public spaces, volunteer and educational activities related to new types of power production.LIFE BELOW THE POWER LINES
SITE A — DOWNTOWN, LOS ANGELES RIVER
Proposed rezoning of underutilized space below and near power lines to offer community space and decentralized green power production.
Proposal creates ~1.5 miles of public space, that would otherwise go unutilized.
10 YEARS: Space near and below is filled with community spaces
25 YEARS: Space is rezoned for mixed zoning. Residential and commercial buildings are built with solar facades, producing enough electricity to sustain themselves
50 YEARS: Power is produced via solar on buildings. Neighborhoods become self-sustaining, eliminating the need for traditional power production and transmission.
SITE B — MID-CITY/BALDWIN HILL
Proposed rezoning of underutilized area below and adjacent to power lines as community, research and power production spaces for the neighborhood. Proposal creates ~1.5 miles of public space, that would otherwise go unutilized.
10 YEARS: Space near and below is filled with community spaces, bike and pedestrian paths
25 YEARS: Proposed research building for LACI is built on the vacant site. LACI focuses on researching the neighborhood’s potential for producing power
50 YEARS: Power is produced via solar on facades and paths. Neighborhoods become self-sustaining, eliminating the need for traditional power production and transmission
Sources
- “Electricity in Early Los Angeles,” Water and Power Associates, accessed April 15, 2025, https://waterandpower.org/
museum/First%20Electricity% 20in%20Los%20Angeles.html. - “Power Past & Present,” Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, https://www.ladwp.com/who-we-are/our-history/power-past-present.
- Varnelis, Kazys. The Infrastructural City: Networked Ecologies in Los Angeles.
- “Electricity Infrastructure,” International Trade Administration, https://www.trade.gov/electricity-infrastructure.
- “2022 Community Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report,” LA Sanitation, https://ia.cpuc.ca.gov/environment/info/aspen/cltp/archive/files_8_26_14/_4TransmissionStructuresFactSheet.pdf.
- “Utility Pole,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utility_pole
- “Transmission Tower,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_tower.
- “Energy,” American Iron and Steel Institute, https://www.steel.org/steel-markets/energy/.
- “Power Plants and Neighboring Communities Mapping Tool,” EPA, https://www.epa.gov/power-sector/power-plants-and-neighboring-communities-mapping-tool.
- “§ 2824. Overhead Lines.,” California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 2824. Overhead Lines., https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/2824.html.
- “LADWP Power System Reliability Program,” Planned Replace Poles, http://prp.ladwp.com/kpi/PRPMap.aspx?fy=15-16&name=REPLACE_POLES_DES.
- “LA’s First Municipal Power Pole,” Water and Power Associates,https://waterandpower.org/museum/First_Power_Pole_Installation.html.
- “Power System,” Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, https://www.ladwp.com/who-we-are/power-system.
- Rania Ghosn and El Hadi Jazairy, Geostories: Another Architecture for the Environment ([ctar)