Palisades Fire victim moves into rebuilt home, but says LADWP hasn't turned on power

PACIFIC PALISADES, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Jack Nguyen and his family finally feel like they've overcome the hardest year and a half of their lives.

Their Pacific Palisades home of 22 years was destroyed in the January wildfires, but their new home is finished. They moved in on Sunday, but there's just one problem.

"Why are you making it so difficult for Palisadians to come back?" he asked. "If we get our Certificate of Occupancy - which we got a couple weeks ago - you would hope that you would get your utilities within a few days after that. Especially given the circumstances we're under, which is obviously just disaster."

The Nguyens had low-wattage temporary power installed on their property for construction, but it's not nearly enough for normal use for a family. The Nguyens' lease on their rental home ends Tuesday, so even though they don't have full power at their rebuilt Palisades home, they're moving in.

The family said the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has been non-responsive since July 2.

"We're going to take cold showers, for one, and we're going to have to be very judicious about our electricity we use," he said. "We have two cars that require electricity."

They aren't the only family in this situation. Eyewitness News has heard from multiple residents who are having trouble getting power turned on after completing their rebuilds. They fear the problem could worsen as more homes are completed in the coming months.

In a statement, LADWP said "restoring power remains a priority. Each customer's power request is unique and, for privacy reasons, we cannot comment on that specific situation without the customer's authorization. And again, we're happy to connect with the customer [Friday] afternoon."

State Sen. Ben Allen, who represents Pacific Palisades, said his office is aware of the issues.

"On the short term, it's calling, it's reaching out, it's pushing ... just trying to put pressure," he said. "On the long term, of course, the state does have a certain amount of power over the locals through law and regulation and oversight. Is it a resources question? What is standing in the way of their ability to be more responsive to people."

"I try to remain as calm as possible, but I've been so stressed out," said Nguyen.