DWP NOT SQUEEZING THE JUICE RATES WON'T FALL, BUT ELECTRICITY KEEPS FLOWING.

Byline: Joseph Giordono Staff Writer

As much of California suffers power shortages and looming rate hikes, the head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said Friday his customers can run all the lights they want.

The story is starkly different for customers of Southern California Edison, which Thursday won concessions from the state Public Utilities Commission that will allow rate hikes as early as Jan. 4.

Despite the rate hike, SoCal Edison and its parent, Edison International, announced Friday that it was cutting 400 jobs as a result of the economic hand deregulation has dealt. Edison said it was also eliminating its fourth-quarter dividend and cutting $100 million in maintenance and operations.

``To preserve our ability to provide electric service and remain viable, we are taking these immediate cash-preserving actions,'' Edison International Chairman John E. Bryson said in a statement.

SoCal Edison, which serves about 4.2 million customers, says it is in financial dire straits. Critics said it was a political move in the running electrical crisis which has threatened power blackouts throughout the state.

But in L.A., the DWP is outside the scope of deregulation and has an ample power supply.

Still, in an interview Friday, Freeman acknowledged that the DWP will likely not be able to deliver a 10 percent rate cut as earlier promised, but deflated rumblings that his department would implement conservation measures or raise rates.

``I certainly would think I was a failure in my duties if I have to ask people to turn off their lights,'' said S. David Freeman, general manager of the DWP.

``My job is to have enough electricity so that people can do what they want. I'm not a dictator, and I'm not a nanny.''

Even though power rates for DWP customers likely will not drop, they still will pay less on average than consumers across the state.

According to estimates provided by both the DWP and Southern California Edison, the average residential consumer uses about 450 to 500 kilowatts per month during December.

The average monthly bill for a DWP customer, based on 500 kilowatts of usage, comes to $52.17. For the average Southern California Edison customer using the same amount of power, the bill comes to $59.26.

DWP officials said the rate for electricity always remains the same. The rate is 7.3 cents per kilowatt hour, no matter how much power a customer uses.

According to Edison officials, their rates vary depending on ``climate zones,'' but that the average baseline rate is 12 cents per kilowatt hour. Once a customer uses more than 200 kilowatts, however, that rate goes up to 14.2 cents per kilowatt hour.

As a part of the restructuring plan implemented statewide in 1996, Edison customers automatically receive a 10 percent discount on their bills.

California power officials on Friday said they celebrated the first workday in three weeks without declaring any power emergencies.

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Box: POWER USAGE

SOURCES: DWP and SoCal Edison

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