A plan for boosting electric rates by 4.5% could go into effect Thursday if the Department of Water and Power board gives the go-ahead.
The board’s 4:30 p.m. meeting Wednesday comes one day after the City Council mustered eight votes – the minimum needed – to call for higher rates.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who appoints the DWP board, has been seeking four increases over the next year to help pay for new environmental initiatives and other expenses at the utility. The council reduced the size of his first proposed increase by 25%.
DWP Commissioner Jonathan Parfrey, who was a supporter of the mayor’s plan, said he had not yet decided how he will vote.
“I’m agnostic,” Parfrey said Wednesday morning. “I want to hear from the public.”
If the council’s plan is approved by the board, the DWP’s residential customers would see the following increases over the next three months, according to Council President Eric Garcetti’s office:
Tier 1 households, which make up 58% of the utility’s customers, would see their monthly bills go up by a range of $1.70 to $2.40.
Tier 2 households, which consume more electricity and make up 36% of the utility’s customers, would see their monthly bills go up by $4.48 to $5.65.
Tier 3 customers, who use large amounts of power and comprise just 6% of residential ratepayers, would see monthly increases of $9.88 to $13.49, depending on where they live.
Those figures could change as soon as July, when a plan for restructuring rates is scheduled to go into effect. The restructuring plan would decrease the size of the increase for Tier 1 and Tier 2 ratepayers but add to the cost of bills for those in Tier 3.
— David Zahniser at Los Angeles City Hall
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