EDITORIAL : DIMMER SWITCH; THE DWP'S BUYOUT IS A COSTLY LESSON IN POLITICAL FAVORS.

THE DWP's proposed $40 million buyout offer for employees is a generous proposal that officials justify as necessary to put the agency on sound economic footing and to keep the lights on in Los Angeles.

But the plan illustrates what's wrong with L.A. The city treats its workers far better than employees in the private sector are treated.

Under the plan tentatively approved Tuesday by Department of Water and Power commissioners, DWP employees could retire early with full benefits or walk away with up to $50,000 in severance.

S. David Freeman, the agency's general manager, said the package could attract about 800 volunteers out of the 2,000 jobs that he wants to eliminate.

Freeman plans to trim the work force by 2,000 people by February as part of a plan to accelerate the paying off of the department's massive $7 billion in debt over the next five years.

Paying off the debt will allow the DWP to stay competitive and not raise residential rates when other companies start vying for city customers.

The buyout offer has another side as well. It is a political ploy to give the City Council, which must approve the final package, the cover to lay off public employees with the most generous severance possible.

The council, after all, is there to protect and serve public employees. They are the ones whose efforts get the council members in the first place. Now the rest of Los Angeles must pay for that special-interest favoritism.

Voting for layoffs could cost council members their jobs if they didn't offer a substantial settlement.

If this frees the council to do a tough job, so be it. The public has little alternative and can take consolation from the fact that the money will come from the heavily endowed pension funds.

At the heart of the long-term issue is the huge disparity between the cost and efficiencies of the public and private sector.

When Southern California Edison Co., the DWP's main local competitor, went through similar cutbacks last year it cost the company $17 million for the 3,000 workers who took part.

Edison's cost was lower because it made the program available to all employees over the age of 47 with a minimum of five years on the job. As a result, the utility didn't have to pay as much when people with fewer years of experience left.

DWP's buyout package, which had been recommended by council members, will allow DWP workers at the age of 50 with 30 years of experience to begin drawing their full retirement instead of waiting until age 55.

Clearly, the city cannot go on operating at much higher costs than the private sector. That should no longer be an option for the DWP or any public agency.