Jack Nguyen says his rebuilt Pacific Palisades home still does not have full power, even though he received a certificate of occupancy a couple of weeks ago. By the time his family moved back in, the house was running only on temporary power.
That made the return more difficult than Nguyen expected. His family’s rental lease ended on July 21, and he said the lack of regular electricity has made it harder to charge devices and to power the two cars that need electricity. “Why are [they] making it so difficult for Palisadians to come back?” he said.
Nguyen’s longtime home was destroyed in the January 2025 wildfires, and his rebuild is now one of the homes caught in the gap between construction and full utility service. He said he expected the utilities to follow the occupancy certificate within days, but regular service had still not been turned on.
He blamed the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power for the delay and said the utility had not responded to his concerns since the beginning of July. The L.A. Department of Water and Power said restoring power remains a priority.
The delay helps explain why the problem has become so frustrating for some Pacific Palisades homeowners returning to rebuilt houses. A certificate can clear a home for people to move back in, but it does not necessarily mean the home has all of the power it needs. In Nguyen’s case, that left his family in a newly finished house that could be occupied, but not fully lived in.
Other homeowners have also had trouble getting service activated after their rebuilds, and some residents fear the delays could get worse as more homes are completed in the coming months. For Nguyen, the unanswered question is not whether he can move home. He already has. It is when the house he rebuilt after losing the old one will finally work like a finished home.
