DWP: FUTURE IS BRIGHT; GENERAL MANAGER EXPECTS LOWER RATES.Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer The head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the largest municipal utility in the United States, serving 3.9 million residents in 2006. It was founded in 1902 to deliver water and electricity supplies to residents and businesses in Los Angeles. offered an upbeat assessment Wednesday of the publicly owned Publicly owned can refer to:
DWP DWP Department of Work and Pensions (UK) DWP Drinking Water Program DWP Dynamic Weapon Pricing (gamin, Counter-Strike: Source) DWP Department of Water & Power DWP Drinking Water Protection General Manager S. David Freeman S. David Freeman (1926– ) is an American engineer, attorney, and author, born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, who has had many key roles in energy policy. He currently heads The Hydrogen Car Company and is a member of the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners. said he also foresees the utility cutting commercial rates by 20 percent to be competitive with privately owned utilities by the time the agency is ready for complete deregulation Deregulation The reduction or elimination of government power in a particular industry, usually enacted to create more competition within the industry. Notes: Traditional areas that have been deregulated are the telephone and airline industries. . ``A year ago, when I came on, there was talk about whether we should sell off everything,'' Freeman told the City Council's Ad Hoc Committee ad hoc committee A committee formed with the purpose of addressing a specific issue or issues, which theoretically is disbanded once its raison d'etre is finished on Electric Restructuring. ``I am pleased to report today that we have made progress and are well on the way to being competitive.'' Freeman said recent milestones included shrinking the DWP work force by some 2,000 workers, paying down $500 million on the agency's $4.5 billion in debts for the electricity-generation system, and implementing efficiencies in running the department. ``We have broken through the ice,'' Freeman said. ``We aren't all the way there yet, but we are making progress.'' Freeman said the utility is on schedule to pay off its major debt by 2003 and see the amount of its energy business grow, enabling it to offer the lower rates. DWP officials said the average residential utility bill now is about $65 a month. However, not everyone was pleased with the progress so far. Brian D'Arcy Father Brian D'Arcy is a Passionist priest based in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. Originally from Fermanagh, Father Brian serves as Rector of St. Gabriel's Retreat, the Graan. , general manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is a labor union which represents workers in the electrical industry in the United States and Canada, particularly electricians, or Inside Wiremen, in the construction industry and linemen and other employees of public , Local 18, which represents most DWP workers, said he was concerned about where staff cutbacks were occurring. ``Originally, we expected to lose 500 workers,'' D'Arcy said, referring to an early retirement program offered by the city to reduce the DWP work force. ``We are down 1,300 workers.'' D'Arcy said many DWP employees have been working steadily for some two weeks because of the recent heat wave, and he was fearful of the possibility of accidents either from fatigue or from generating stations working at full capacity because of high demand. Freeman said he has been meeting with D'Arcy and working to fill positions as quickly as the civil service system would allow. In addition to the reductions that have been made, Freeman said the utility has been working to support a variety of environmental projects, such as tree-planting programs at schools, developing an electric leaf blower and offering incentives to environmental firms. Also, he said the DWP was able to take advantage of the recent heat wave by selling excess power it was able to generate. He estimated the DWP took in an extra $10 million during July and August. |
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