H David Nahai

Making a move that had been expected for weeks, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Monday he had nominated one of his close allies, attorney H. David Nahai, to run the city's Department of Water and Power. The City Council still must vote to confirm Nahai, who spent two years as a Villaraigosa appointee on the five-member, volunteer Board of Water and Power Commissioners, which oversees the DWP.

Tensions ran so high in the executive ranks of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power last year that the utility hired an organizational psychologist to sort out the ill feelings. The psychologist received nearly $50,000 under a contract that required him to give only an oral report to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office. As a result, there is no written record, a DWP spokesman said. But several sources said the psychologist found an intense battle between the two men attempting to carry out Villaraigosa's policies: then-General Manager H. David Nahai and Raman Raj, the No. 2 executive.

After nearly two years of fending off criticism from ratepayers and his own employees, H. David Nahai stepped down Friday as head of the nation's largest municipally owned utility, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Nahai, 56, said in a letter to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa that he would leave immediately to take a position as an advisor to former President Clinton's climate initiative to battle global warming. But well before he announced his new job, the Iranian-born environmentalist and attorney found himself under fire on several fronts.

Los Angeles city officials have released the terms of the controversial consulting contract for the former general manager of the Department of Water and Power, H. David Nahai, who resigned this month. Under the three-month contract, Nahai can earn a maximum of $82,000 to "provide consulting services and provide knowledge transfer relating to issues that arose during his tenure as chief executive officer and general manager." Nahai is required to make himself available by phone or e-mail during normal work hours.

Los Angeles city officials have released the terms of the controversial consulting contract for the former general manager of the Department of Water and Power, H. David Nahai, who resigned this month. Under the three-month contract, Nahai can earn a maximum of $82,000 to "provide consulting services and provide knowledge transfer relating to issues that arose during his tenure as chief executive officer and general manager." Nahai is required to make himself available by phone or e-mail during normal work hours.

Officials at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power plan to give a consulting contract to the agency's outgoing general manager that would pay him the same salary he earned as its top executive. Days after he resigned, H. David Nahai is slated to receive nearly $6,300 per week as a consultant to the utility. The DWP commission, whose five members are appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, is scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss the plan. DWP commission President Lee Kanon Alpert said he asked Nahai to stay on as a consultant for the rest of the year.

'Nothing's going on here," Board of Water and Power Commissioners President Lee Kanon Alpert insisted at Tuesday's meeting, sounding woefully similar to a certain Wizard urging Dorothy and friends not to peek behind the curtain. Alpert's intent was to convince onlookers that there was nothing nefarious about plans by the Department of Water and Power to pay its outgoing chief, H. David Nahai, his full salary through the end of the year in exchange for "consulting" services. After all, Alpert said, smaller city departments have made similar deals with departing executives for even longer terms.

Tensions ran so high in the executive ranks of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power last year that the utility hired an organizational psychologist to sort out the ill feelings. The psychologist received nearly $50,000 under a contract that required him to give only an oral report to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office. As a result, there is no written record, a DWP spokesman said. But several sources said the psychologist found an intense battle between the two men attempting to carry out Villaraigosa's policies: then-General Manager H. David Nahai and Raman Raj, the No. 2 executive.

The panel that oversees the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power voted Tuesday to name Deputy Mayor S. David Freeman interim general manager, paying him $6,250 per week at the same time the agency retains its recently departed top executive as a consultant. The commission, whose members are appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, voted 3 to 0 to hire Freeman starting Tuesday. Meanwhile, the agency will pay former General Manager H. David Nahai, who announced his resignation Friday, $6,292 per week.

Even with the recent batch of rainstorms, the ongoing drought has grown so severe that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Monday called for increased citywide water restrictions and the adoption of a tiered water rate that would punish Department of Water and Power customers who fail to conserve. Sprinkler use would be restricted to two days a week under the proposal and, by summer, could be cut to one day a week if the drought continues, Villaraigosa said.

The panel that oversees the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power voted Tuesday to name Deputy Mayor S. David Freeman interim general manager, paying him $6,250 per week at the same time the agency retains its recently departed top executive as a consultant. The commission, whose members are appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, voted 3 to 0 to hire Freeman starting Tuesday. Meanwhile, the agency will pay former General Manager H. David Nahai, who announced his resignation Friday, $6,292 per week.

'Nothing's going on here," Board of Water and Power Commissioners President Lee Kanon Alpert insisted at Tuesday's meeting, sounding woefully similar to a certain Wizard urging Dorothy and friends not to peek behind the curtain. Alpert's intent was to convince onlookers that there was nothing nefarious about plans by the Department of Water and Power to pay its outgoing chief, H. David Nahai, his full salary through the end of the year in exchange for "consulting" services. After all, Alpert said, smaller city departments have made similar deals with departing executives for even longer terms.

Officials at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power plan to give a consulting contract to the agency's outgoing general manager that would pay him the same salary he earned as its top executive. Days after he resigned, H. David Nahai is slated to receive nearly $6,300 per week as a consultant to the utility. The DWP commission, whose five members are appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, is scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss the plan. DWP commission President Lee Kanon Alpert said he asked Nahai to stay on as a consultant for the rest of the year.

After nearly two years of fending off criticism from ratepayers and his own employees, H. David Nahai stepped down Friday as head of the nation's largest municipally owned utility, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Nahai, 56, said in a letter to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa that he would leave immediately to take a position as an advisor to former President Clinton's climate initiative to battle global warming. But well before he announced his new job, the Iranian-born environmentalist and attorney found himself under fire on several fronts.

Making a move that had been expected for weeks, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Monday he had nominated one of his close allies, attorney H. David Nahai, to run the city's Department of Water and Power. The City Council still must vote to confirm Nahai, who spent two years as a Villaraigosa appointee on the five-member, volunteer Board of Water and Power Commissioners, which oversees the DWP.

The City Council voted Tuesday to delay a vote on proposed water and electricity rate hikes until late February -- after voters decide the fate of a $243-million telephone utility users tax. Council members said they wanted more answers from newly hired DWP General Manager H. David Nahai on the utility's efforts to address staffing shortages and fix aging infrastructure.

The Department of Water and Power signed a 20-year agreement to purchase enough wind energy to power 39,000 homes. The 185 megawatts of wind energy will come from a facility under development in Utah and is expected to be ready by the end of 2008. DWP board President H. David Nahai said the agreement, announced Wednesday, would help meet a goal of using 20% renewable energy by 2010.