Los Angeles Department Of Water And Power

A small fire caused by an electrical malfunction in a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power substation early Thursday left 3,000 North Hollywood customers without power for nearly five hours, a spokeswoman said. The Fire Department responded when a voltage regulator at the substation in the 5500 block of Fulton Avenue ignited at 12:45 a.m., said Lucia Alvelais, department spokeswoman. Power lines were shut off until 5:30 a.m.

Fire caused more than $2 million in damage to a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power receiving station late Friday and left 20,000 homes and businesses in the eastern San Fernando Valley without power for two hours, a DWP spokeswoman said. The cause of the blaze, which ignited in a transformer bank, is unknown, said Lucila Alvelais of the DWP. The fire was reported just before midnight.

Hundreds of workers at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power jeered Thursday as the utility's retirement board again grappled with Mayor Richard Riordan's controversial plan to tap into the DWP pension fund. Riordan hopes to free millions of dollars that now go to the pension plan by adopting less stringent accounting practices. He intends to divert some of that money to pay for more police. The retirement board appeared deadlocked on whether to proceed with any changes.

In a divided vote Wednesday, the Los Angeles City Council formally approved the contract settlement it reached in September with striking workers at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Some dissenting council members wanted to reconsider the controversial 9% pay raise over three years, saying it was too costly and has led other employee groups--such as the police and firefighter unions--to seek the same.

Concerned about apparent overspending at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, City Council members on Friday proposed an outside audit of the utility's fiscal policies. In calling for the outside review, Council President John Ferraro said that the $800,000 food tab from the recent nine-day DWP strike has prompted officials and residents to wonder, "What is going on at the DWP?"

A judge in Inyo County Superior Court in Independence told the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on Thursday that the agency has until Nov. 1 to complete a study on how it plans to restore water to 61 miles of the long-dry lower Owens River. Judge Edward Denton said he would consider sanctions against the DWP if the new deadline isn't met. One possible penalty could be a limit on ground water the agency is allowed to export from the Owens Valley to Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has been ordered to continue releasing water into four Mono Lake streams that have suffered damage from diversions into the city's aqueduct. El Dorado County Superior Court Judge Terrence Finney ruled on behalf of the National Audubon Society and Mono Lake Committee, which had said Los Angeles' diversions through the years have eliminated fisheries and streamside flora.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officially began construction Monday of a $57-million facility in Sun Valley that will house a new water quality laboratory, computer center and office building. "The rapid growth of the city and accompanying need for water and power services has dictated the need for additional space," said Rick J. Caruso, president of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners, at groundbreaking ceremonies for the new James H. Anthony Center.

Mayor Tom Bradley said Tuesday that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will spend $1 billion over the next 10 years to reduce air pollution emissions from its 19 power plants. The mayor said the cost will increase the average homeowner's monthly electrical bill by 7% to 10%. DWP power plant emissions account for 2,329 tons, or 25% of the 9,340 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions from all power plants each year in the four-county South Coast Air Basin.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will spend $5 million to fund a work training program for junior high and high school students in the Los Angeles Unified School District. During the next 18 months, the DWP's Youth Service Academy will sponsor about 1,000 teen-agers who will work full or part-time for the city while attending vocational training classes and career guidance sessions.