The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday recommended raising electric rates paid by L.A. homeowners and businesses, capping months of debate.
The move would raise the rate paid by residents by 4.5% and the rate paid by businesses by roughly 5% to 6%.
[Updated at 4:42 p.m.: Aides said late Tuesday that the rate paid by both businesses and residential customers would increase by 4.5%.]
A final decision on the rate hike will be made by the Water and Power Commission.
The proposed increase is about 25% less than what Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wanted to cover the next three months. But that is not likely to soothe some residents and businesses angered that the city is hiking rates during a recession.
The vote set the stage for a yearlong debate over Department of Water and Power rates, since the mayor will be seeking three more increases to help pay for the fluctuating cost of coal, renewable energy contracts and more aggressive conservation programs.
Villaraigosa has treated his DWP initiative like a political campaign, attracting endorsements from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Vice President Al Gore and accusing the City Council of lacking a commitment to the environment.
Labor leaders, including the union that represents DWP employees, have pressed the council in recent weeks to approve the increases, saying the extra money would help clean up a utility that gets 44% of its power from coal.
— David Zahniser at L.A. City Hall