L.A. DWP gets preliminary approval to hike rates
Concern about fraying electrical cables is mentioned as the City Council backs the increases, which are expected to add $7.25 per month to the average water and power bill.
The Los Angeles City Council gave preliminary approval today to a package of water and electrical rate hikes, saying the increases are needed to replace crumbling water lines and aging electrical cable.
Council members said the five residential, commercial and industrial rate hikes -- two for water, three for electricity -- were needed to avert summer power outages and prevent aging water pipes from causing sinkholes and other damage.
Councilman Bill Rosendahl went further, tying the Department of Water and Power's request for additional money to last week's electrical explosion in Westchester, where one firefighter was killed and another injured.
"Some people called it a freak accident," said Rosendahl, who represents the neighborhood where the explosion occurred. "I call it a wake-up call."
Last week, city officials said the death of firefighter Brent Lovrien was the indirect result of decaying DWP equipment -- a decades-old electrical cable that had cracks in its casing and is believed to have served as a conduit for fumes that caused the explosion.
Rosendahl's comments immediately drew criticism from one of his constituents, who said the DWP, the nation's largest municipal utility, would have had money to upgrade its wiring if it hadn't contributed $175 million to balance the city budget this year. The DWP has transferred hundreds of millions of dollars over the past decade to pay for other city programs.
"This money was always intended for DWP's use, not the city," wrote Westchester resident David Coffin in an e-mail. "The fact that it was not used as intended may have contributed to the explosion in Westchester."
The council voted 11-0 for the electrical rate hikes and 9-2 for the water rate hikes, which are expected to generate $272 million annually, once all have gone into effect. Because the proposals failed to secure 12 votes, they will face another vote next week, when only eight votes are needed for approval.
The council approved the rate hikes despite objections from neighborhood council leaders, who said that the DWP should first complete an industrial analysis -- a financial document produced by the utility every five years -- to determine if the rate hikes are needed.
Neighborhood activists also warned that households would be hard hit by the increases, which are expected to add $7.25 per month to the average bill when all of the increases are in effect.
