The Los Angeles City Council gave preliminary approval Wednesday 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 old water pipes from causing sinkholes and other damage.
Councilman Bill Rosendahl went further, warning that unless the Department of Water and Power receives additional money, the city could see more incidents like 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."
City officials have said the death of Firefighter Brent Lovrien was the indirect result of decaying DWP equipment. A decades-old electrical cable with a cracked casing is believed to have served as a conduit for fumes that ignited when Lovrien turned on an electric saw.
Rosendahl's comments drew criticism from one constituent, 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 last decade to pay for other city programs.
"This money was always intended for DWP's use, not the city," Westchester resident David Coffin wrote 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 to 0 for the electrical rate hikes and 8 to 3 for the water rate hikes, which together are expected to generate $272 million annually. Because the proposals failed to secure 12 votes, they will face another vote next week; under council rules, only eight votes will be needed then for approval.
The council approved the rate hikes despite objections from neighborhood council leaders, who said 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.
