Like Pasadena, Los Angeles is Exposed to "Utility Math"

The Pasadena Pundit ^ | October 29, 2007 | Jack Humphreville

[WayneLusvardi]

Like Pasadena, Los Angeles is Exposed to "Utility Math"

Jack Humphreville Neighborhood Council - DWP Oversight Committee

Like Pasadena, we in Los Angeles are being exposed to utility math.

DWP has proposed to raise our power rates on January 1 and July 1, 2008, and July 1, 2009. They have been characterized as "fairly modest" and only "$1.75 a month" and 8.5% over 3 (years) the rate hikes and they are vital to improve our power reliability.

Unfortunately, when you take in the "pass thrus," our rates are going up 23%. That is not fairly modest, that is RATE SHOCK!

But it gets better. Of the $655,000,000 increase to the rate payers, over $100,000,000 goes to city hall because of the 10% Municipal Tax and the 7% levy on power revenues, including the pas thru revenues.

And even better! We have calculated that about 20 to 25% of our power bill hits city hall: the 10% Municipal Tax plus the 7% levy on revenues plus the cost of "pet projects" (projects that the city is responsible for but that are now paid for by DWP) plus the premium paid to DWP employees as a result of the union's generous campaign contributions.

[camle]

I understand that CA’s power grid is badly in need of replacement and is horrendously overused. if you want realible power, you gotta pay for it sometime or other. unless you LIKE enforced candlelight dinners...

[Still Thinking]

The last time we had a thread about exhorbitant DWP wages, I seem to recall that the wages were in line with Edison, PG&E, and other utilities which would be the competing market for these guys’ labor. It may be a premium compared to municipal workers, but those guys are paper pushers, whereas the DWP guys have actual skills.

[ClearCase_guy]

When I saw the headline, I figured it was a story about the dumbing down of Math Education. I figured "utility math" was a new term intended to get kids functional at least for basic arithmetic so that they could count out change in a store.

Turns out the story has nothing to do with that. But then I see this:

They have been characterized as "fairly modest" and only "$1.75 a month" and 8.5% over 3 (years) the rate hikes and they are vital to improve our power reliability. Unfortunately, when you take in the "pass thrus," our rates are going up 23%.

And I realize that this sort of intellectual grasp of the Utility actions is far beyond the mathematical abilities of most of the citizenry. Because of the dumbing down of Math Education.

That's part of the reason why the Big Guys get away with stuff. The people are too dumb to see it, much of the time.

[djxu456]

the price per kilowatt-hour is ?

[VOA]

I don’t know ALL the details...but we’re undergoing a modest “rate shock”
here in Columbia, MO (Mid-Missouri area and the home of the University
of Missouri-Columbia).
The local “authority” is bumping up the cost of electricity and water
next year by a couple of percentage points.

At least we are not directly at the mercy of Ameren
“America’s Worst Utility Company” that routinely fails to deliver
power to the St. Louis area when any sort of “storm system”
blows through the area.

[em2vn]

It would seem that the utility doesn’t have the capacity to engage in long term planning. If it did it would make provisions for financing it’s furture needs by means other than rate hikes.

[John Jorsett]

I understand that CA’s power grid is badly in need of replacement and is horrendously overused. if you want realible power, you gotta pay for it sometime or other. unless you LIKE enforced candlelight dinners...

The problem is, do we trust that the rate hikes will go to upgrading the infrastructure? Here in San Diego, the city regularly raises sewer rates under the cry of "we need to replace our pipes" and via subterfuge ends up taking a big chunk of it for the general fund. Before any rate increase, I want a law that forbids the use of utility fees for anything other than delivery of the associated services. After that's in place, then we can talk about whether or not you need more.