Gas Co. Replacing Lines Near Topaz Substation

The Gas Company is replacing lines near the Topaz Substation on Knob Hill in hopes of permanently solving the issue of charged gas lines.

According to a report from CBS Los Angeles, crews from SoCalGas, Southern California Edison and a Gardena corrosion control company were working near the substation at the corner of Knob Hill and Prospect avenues in South Redondo Beach.

Concern over stray voltage emanating from the Topaz Substation has been on many residents' minds since the Easy Reader published an article about a woman living next to the substation who claims she suffered nerve damage from low-voltage electrical shock caused by the substation's stray voltage.

In February, CBS Los Angeles profiled several other neighbors who said they were concerned over their charged gas lines and high readings of electromagnetic fields.

On Monday, SoCalGas told KCAL9 reporter Suraya Fadel that they were replacing 3,000 feet of 8-inch diameter steel gas line with 8-inch plastic pipe. Unlike metal pipe, plastic pipe does not conduct electricity.

SoCalGas representative Norm Shickling told neighbors at a community meeting in April that the company planned to replace the pipe, but in the meantime, workers had installed insulator fins—electrical breaks that don't conduct electricity—and anodes that would dissipate the charge along the line.

Work on the replacement gas lines is expected to be completed before Thanksgiving.