Photo by yunny via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr From 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., an excessive heat warning is in effect, according to the National Weather Service. And going along with the state's Flex (Your Power) Alert, the NWS has also issued an excessive heat watch through Thursday evening. How hot will it be? Triple digits are expected hit highs of 102 to 110 degrees in some areas. And with the statewide flex......

Time to hunker down and flex your power, so says state officials. "The California Independent System Operator (CAISO), charged with managing the electricity grid in California, has issued a Flex Alert for Tuesday, July 8th through Thursday, July 10th," an e-mail alert states. "Due to the current hot weather, electricity conservation is necessary."......

For six weeks, ex-LA City Beat writer Alan Mittelstaedt has been trying to get a hold of DWP's CEO and General Manager's personal water bills, something that must be released by law within 10 days of request. The reporter was ready to bring the DWP to court, but before that, the Daily News printed a story about Nahai's bills but left out the backstory on why Nahai was all of the sudden releasing this info.......

Ex-LA City Beat writer Alan Mittelstaedt (known as the LA Sniper) might sue the LA Dept. of Water & Power General Manager and CEO David Nahai over a California Public Records Request violation -- Nahai won't give up his personal water bills for his 6,012-square foot Benedict Canyon mansion. Mittelstaedt thinks the bills will show Nahai's lifestyle is opposite the one his department preaches: sustainability and green. "We’re in ongoing discussions with DWP’s attorneys and......

When the power goes out, that means the traffic lights go with it, making it harder to tell if there is even a traffic light there to begin with (especially if you're unfamiliar the neighborhood). Despite that, signals that are out must be treated like a stop sign. The LAPD never seems to send these educational warnings out, but this friendly reminder comes from the Los Angeles Fire Department. "With power out to many traffic......

What the LA Department of Water & Power is saying today during the heatwave: "Yesterday's energy peak reached 5856 megawatts, and was the second highest load in June. Today's peak demand is expected to reach or exceed the record of 6165 megawatts, set on July 24, 2006. While the LADWP has enough power to meet the city's needs, extraordinary demand during prolonged hot temperatures puts a tremendous strain on the city's electrical distribution equipment. Customers......

With temperatures soaring past 100 degrees in the Valley and with other parts of Los Angeles feeling sticky, it's no surprise that energy use spiked yesterday. "The energy peak topped out at 5509 megawatts, making it the second highest June load on record," stated an LA Department of Water & Power press release from today that "urges" residents to conserve energy. "The record load for June is 5531 megawatts, set on June 28, 2006. The......

Photo by AZAdam via Flickr Only 102 of the 958 city buildings expected to get CFLs have installed the energy-efficient lightbulbs and City Controller Laura Chick is saying that the program is not going fast enough. So far, the city has replaced enough to save $1.5 million on the annual $27-million power bill. However, replacing the bulbs came at the price of $5 million, but costs are expected to be recovered over time with......

Slowly we've seen man replaced by the machine, but at 3 parking lots in Long Beach they're powering the machines with a force even more powerful: the sun! According to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, the LBC's "Redevelopment Agency has replaced the honor boxes at three downtown lots with solar-powered pay stations." These units run on the energy generated by "a solar panel that's placed on top of the pay station." Even better yet, these machines......

A report released from the Brookings Institution says Honolulu has the lowest carbon footprint of any city in the United States. Then at number two is Los Angeles, which is a surprise considering the city's sprawling car culture and industry. Who is not surprised is Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office. His deputy for energy and environment told the LA times that "sprawl is a lot worse in other parts of the U.S." and that the city......

"The energy demand we are seeing is unprecedented, and it's only May," said David Nahai, LADWP CEO & General Manager, in a statement today, which is the second one regarding the same issue in less than thirty days. "We urge our customers to start cutting back their energy use now and to be ready for continued hot temperatures as we enter the summer months... It's incumbent upon all L.A. residents and businesses to look at......

As reported earlier today, the LA City Council was set to vote and approve rate hikes for the Department of Water and Power over the next four years. Now that all is said and done, the council approved the increases. Rick Orlov of the Daily News blogged updates throughout the meeting with some great talking points: Trust & Transparency (link)Councilwoman Janice Hahn said part of the problem facing the DWP is the lack of public......

Photo of the DWP Parking lot by Omar Omar via Flickr This morning, the Los Angeles City Council gave a first round of approval for water and power rate hikes, saying infrastructure is needed to be updated. Over the next year and a half, monthly rates are expected to increase to around $7.25 (plus tax). Both General Manager for the Department of Water and Power David Nahai and Councilman Bill Rosendahl pointed towards last......

Photo of the DWP Parking lot by Omar Omar via Flickr Raise your hand if the moment you heard about the death of firefighter Brent A. Lovrien being caused by old 1930s technology, that the DWP would use that as a way to help their cause of raising water and power rates? "While we believe this to be a freak occurrence, it is a symptom of a much greater problem that we must address,"......

Photo by neonspecs via LAist Featured Photos Pool on Flickr The LA City Council today voted to postpone a vote on proposed DWP fee hikes until April 2nd. Citing the need for widespread infrastructure upgrades that would ideally prevent customers from losing power when the demand is high, for example in summer's probably heat waves, the DWP is looking to increase "base power rates by 8½ percent and water rates by more than six percent......

Sunday's Grammy Awards weren't just about honoring the best in music, they were also about supporting environmental awareness and conservancy. And the The Recording Academy® hoped to set the precedent with getting the Grammys to go green. The show itself was produced to have a reduced environmental impact, which, according to their press release, meant that in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) and......

On Thursday, a groundbreaking ceremony was held a few miles north of Mojave for the country's largest city-owned windfarm. The Pine Tree Wind Project is Los Angeles' hope for the future of power, supplying 120 megawatts of renewable energy to our city. In fact, Mayor Villaraigosa, who attended the event and who has been working on ways to make energy more green and efficient, says "20 percent of the city's energy will come from renewable......

LA's homeless population is filling up local shelters, with some trying to gain permission from officials to allow people to stay inside 24 hours a day. Extra cots have been set up, and shelters like the Union Rescue Mission are at capacity. Many Southern California Edison customers found themselves without power last night thanks to the weather. The primary concentration of outages was in the Lake Arrowhead area. Traffic woes: Roads through Griffith Park were......

What could make a hilarious skit on Saturday Night Live starring Maya Rudolph is real, completely serious material created by author, lecturer, motivational speaker and TV host Alexyss Tylor. With nuggets of wisdom like “All penises are not created equal,” Tylor has been hosting a cable access show in Atlanta about sexuality with her mother. Although Tylor dominates most of the show, watch for what her mother has to say during discussions on cold......

Recent major events for the LAFD include last night's apartment fires in North Hollywood and Westchester. Busy day on LAPD's blog: a drive-by shooting yesterday, a labor day homicide, Congressman Xavier Becerra's office burglarized, two fatal Skid Row stabbings, a Carl's Jr. robbery and a fatal shooting this morning in South LA. Sparked by the recent heat-reated power outages, Matt Littman at the Huffington Post asks if Los Angeles is in permanent decay: "It......

Last week I texted my friend Dals to see what she was doing for the evening. "Chillin' at home, smokin' hookah. My power went out," she responded. I texted back, "Ahaha you loser," and then I thought about just how much it sucked being her. On Monday afternoon, I arrived to LA from Las Vegas and was greeted by a sweltering apartment. I don't have A/C. Usually it's not cold inside my place, but fans......

Yesterday I flexed, I saved power, I took a quick shower in the dark, I refused to use AC in the middle of the day and I lost one candle (or at least, I have a new piece of art resembling, uh....). So what is this flexing your power thing?A Flex Alert is an urgent call for California businesses, governments and residents to voluntarily reduce their electricity use. The alert is used to prevent......