Results tagged “utilities”

Back in April of 2008 we remarked that the announcement of a new overlay area code--a code within an existing code area for use with new numbers when all previous numbers have been assigned--was "not a big deal." Okay, fine, so soon people in the 818 might have to accept a 747 area code, and everyone within the area would have to dial each other using all 10 digits.

Considering the recent flooding in Studio City, a fire truck consumed into a Valley Village street and various other floods throughout the city--Melrose Ave., South LA, Exposition Ave.--Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials said today that in order to repair the city's older infrastructure within the 7,200 miles of piping, they will ask the City Council to increase water rates, according to the LA Times.

After major flooding in Studio City and a fire truck stuck halfway into the street in Valley Village, there is some hyperawareness regarding water main breaks. Two more water mains broke early this morning in the Mid-City area, which statistically means there should be about two more later today. That's because there are about 1,400 breaks a year, averaging out to four a day, according to the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power. Between 1:30 and 2:00 a.m. this morning, two breaks were reported. One on the 1400 block of Hi Point in the Fairfax/Pico area where about 50 customers are without water service, which should return by noon. There was no damage, but there was "a little mud on the street as a result of it," explained spokesperson Gale Harris over the phone. Further north near Fairfax and Beverly, another break occurred on the 100 block of Hayworth, affecting 30 to 50 customers. Harris said the department is investigating to figure if these breaks are related.

[Update: After being ousted from his committee assignments later this morning, Duvall resigned from his post] Talk about scandal. In an exclusive, KCAL9 obtained a video of Orange County Assemblyman Michael Duvall (R-Yorba Linda) allegedly talking about at least two sexual relations beyond his marriage. Why would a 54-year-old man like Duvall be such a popular guy with the Sacramento ladies? Speculation leads to his position of power on the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee where he sits as Vice Chairman.

The County of Los Angeles has gone ahead and busted themselves. "This is government at its worst," Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky was quoted saying in the LA Times. "We have a problem, no question about it. But we are going to move quickly to fix it." The county started auditing themselves after they found over 300 unused lines at the now-closed Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital. The $1.5 million number only totals what they've discovered so far and it could double when they finish with 16,000 useless lines. Any savings is good news, especially in this economy, but the County has a long way to go. The $22.8 billion budget has department heads trying to cut as much as 13%.

Following suit with the LA Department of Water (LADWP), a city agency, the LA County Board of Supervisors declared a water emergency today for three the county areas. Residents served by the Department of Public Works (LADPW) will have to meet a lower 15% tier usage rate or face higher fees, a similar system to the city of Los Angeles. Also, the Board approved to charge customers for "water service availability" in Kagel Canyon, Malibu, Val Verde, Acton and the Antelope Valley.

Hello, June. Today means two basic new water rules. Firstly, no using sprinklers on days other than Monday and Thursdays. Easy enough, right? Well, if you're the tattling type and catch a neighbor breaking the new law, you can contact the LA Department of Water & Power's drought buster unit at (800) DIAL-DWP or via e-mail at waterconservationteam@ladwp.com. Also, new rates begin today trying to get people to reduce use by 15%. If not, you could be charged more. It's based on tiers, not what your average use has been over the last year so in theory, you're current habits may already be 15% under what they're looking for. Confused? Here's their Fact Sheet (.pdf) and their FAQ sheet (.pdf).

Beginning Monday, mandatory water conservation in Los Angeles begins. That means things like a different rate structure (.pdf) and a stricter sprinkler ordinance (.pdf). Speaking to watering lawns, which consumes the most amount of water in households, homeowners don't necessarily have to sprinkle anything. Isla Earth, the daily podcast from the Catalina Island Conservancy explains some xeriscaping basics in an episode from 2007 that are still relevant today:

Metro has done it again and this time broken a record for Los Angeles. Yesterday they unveiled the largest solar panel installation within the City of Los Angeles on top of their Support Services Center--basically a bus maintenance facility--in downtown.

Long standing programs to help low-income individuals and families save money on their utility bills and to purchase energy-efficient appliances and equipment are not totally being taken advantage of by 900,000 Californians. That's why this week utility companies like Southern California Edison and LADWP are making an effort to push these programs. Basically, if your total household has a total income of less than a certain amount, you're eligible (see a chart and info here). And it's not based on last year's tax returns or any of that--if you recently lost your job, then your income is zero. Qualifying people can receive a 20 percent discount on their utility bills for electricity and gas. Another program will install energy-efficient appliances and equipment at no cost to eligible customers. And hey renters, this is for you, too.

A proposed LADWP rate hike on customers who do not conserve water was unanimously rejected by the LA City Council today. If passed, the proposal would have gone in effect this summer forcing users to reduce usage to under a certain amount (on average, 15% less) or have significantly higher rates. The council's consensus was that they had not enough time to fully study the motion. "City water department officials say that 85% of single-family homeowners and 94% of low-income residents would not see an increase in their water rate or would even pay less under the proposed ordinance," reported the LA Times.

A Superior Court tentative ruling last week says that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power must pay back $30 million to customers after violating Prop 218, which says "the state Constitution bars municipal utilities from overcharging ratepayers for water and then using the surplus to pay for other city programs," according to the LA Times. The LADWP has been taking money and moving it to the city's general fund, which pays for various programs such as streets and police. If the ruling becomes final, the department will have to give customers refunds or credits on future bills.

The Department of Water & Power yesterday voted to approve new water rates that will go into effect June 1st unless blocked by city council. "Customers will have to use less water to stay within a base rate. If they already are well within that range -- as many low-income customers are -- their bills should not rise," reported the LA Times. "Charges in a second tier above that base level will jump 44% under the plan. Higher overall summer rates will remain in effect year-round." Outdoor sprinkler usage will also be limited to two days a week instead of four. In the last 18 months, the city's water usage has decreased by 5% but officials predict a 12% water shortage later this year.

LA Observed's Kevin Roderick couldn't post his daily Morning Buzz column at the time he wanted. "Cable outage; will post soon," he wrote. Almost two hours later, he finally posted the column. In an e-mail, Roderick said his service is Time Warner, saying that it has "been erratic the last few days."

Good news for anyone whose home was destroyed or damaged by last weekend's wildfires who also happens to be a Southern California Edison (SCE) customer: You don't have to pay your current bill. According to CalFire's blog, those customers "will not have to pay for electricity used since the last bill they received at those damaged residences," and that SCE is "offering payment arrangements for those who were indirectly affected by the fires, such as customers who lost business income." An SCE Customer Service rep expressed sympathy on behalf of the company to all those who were affected, and gave out phone numbers to help direct inquiries regarding bill forgiveness--(800) 250-7339--and payment arrangement--(800) 950-2356. Crews are still working in some areas to restore full service.

After yesterday's announcement of an $160 million settlement in the case where the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power "knowingly overcharged State and local governmental agencies for electricity (as the State Attorney's Office put it)," the city agency released a statement online only (mysteriously, it wasn't e-mailed). Basically, they say everything is fine and dandy and not to worry about your bills:

Don't worry (yet), the DWP's overcharging scandal only involves governmental customers such as Metro, LA County and LA Unified School District. “The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power had been imposing illegal and unjustified overcharges on their governmental customers for several years,” said Attorney General Brown in a statement. “The L.A. school district and the other governmental agencies desperately need every available dollar in these hard economic times.” A total of $160 million will be refunded to the agencies.

Southern California Edison (SCE) announced that they've now recycled 700,000 refrigerators in the last 15 years since the beginning of their Refrigerator and Freezer Recycling Program. The program has two parts: (1) you get $50 to recycle the fridge, and (2), you get another $50 if you buy a new Energy Star qualified fridge. According to SCE's director of energy efficiency per the Power Plug blog, people spend about an extra $300 a year with older refrigerators.

It was hinted towards on Monday and yesterday it came true. Pacific Gas & Electric donated a quarter million dollars to the No on Prop 8 campaign, which seeks to defeat a proposed amendment change that would eliminate gay marriage in California. "The utility also said it will spearhead the formation of a business advisory council that will seek to get other businesses around California to to defeat the ballot initiative," reported the LA Times. The working theory behind businesses getting on the No on Prop 8 bandwagon is that if passed, the ban would be bad for business and many more gay employees are out and in higher ranking positions.

Pacific Gas & Electric, a utility that most serves Northern California, may join the No on Prop 8 campaign tomorrow at a press conference. "They know exactly what they are doing here. They need some credibility with the left, especially in San Francisco," writes Brian Leubitz at Calitics. "As for other companies, I expect we'll see a few other businesses." Which businesses in Southern California will join in? Will Southern California Edison? How about Southern California Gas Company?

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 estimated savings of $6 million a year.

This map shows summer average daily temperatures for the microclimates of the City of Los Angeles and was performed by the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at UCLA. The two temperature zones were based on average temperatures less (orange) or greater (red) than 80 degrees.

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:

Today, the city council is doing their second round of approval for the DWP rate hikes. And while politicians have spun it saying it will only go up a little by stating facts within certain contexts, the LA Times today did the math: "electricity bills will go up at least 23% over a four-year period, thanks to the Department of Water and Power's decision to ask ratepayers to absorb the higher cost of natural gas and the switch to other environmentally friendly forms of energy."

The LA City Council today voted to postpone a vote on proposed DWP fee hikes until April 2nd.

The LA Department of Water and Power seem to think that LA will just sit back and let them raise rates, hide money, and allow themselves to get rich. In the last few weeks the public utility has been exposed for a few troubling trends and actions that we quietly await to see what Mayor Tony, and our other elected officials, will do about it. On Sunday the LA Daily News discovered that over...

In the midst of our driest rain season to date, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is urging the people of Los Angeles cut back on water consumption by 10%. Along with the drought here in LA (just 3.21 inches of rain in downtown since July 1 of last year, down 12 inches from the average) eastern Sierra Nevada which supplies Angelenos with about half of our water is also experiencing record low rainfall and an abnormally small...

The unruly and weakening winds of last week made it easier for the lighter winds and rains of this week to cause more power outage havoc. All morning, our grid flickered on and off with teases of energy consumption. Finally, it just gave up -- not a surprise at all. Not too long after, a group of six trucks worked its way up the street returning electricity fast and moving on to the next...

Does this sound like something the City of Los Angeles should do? The city of Moorpark has slapped a $25,000 fine against Time Warner Cable over what it says is poor service provided to customers. The City Council voted 4-0 to fine the company over technical problems, long waiting times and telephone prompts that didn’t lead to the right answer. “Time Warner has, for a period of time, not lived up to the obligations that...

Oh man, Mom's in town and already she's all wah wah wah about how she wants to visit a museum. A real museum. Last time she was here she declared the Museum of Online Museums "not a real museum," and she got so confused in a bad way by the Museum of Jurassic Technology that she forgot to pick up the bill at dinner that night. Damn. You're not gonna let that happen again.