Editor’s Note: Listen to Councilman Tony Cardenas’ brilliant interrogation of DWP officials (cardenas-dwp.mp3) on Measure B or read this article, or both. You might even listen to Council President Eric Garcetti “greenwash” past DWP failures and anticipate its failure to deliver on the promises of Measure B (garcetti-dwp.mp3).
Three months after putting Measure B unanimously on the March 3 ballot, the City Council actually held a public hearing Tuesday to ask Department of Water and Power officials what their plan is and to give the public an honest chance to talk about it.
It took an emergency meeting of the Council’s Energy and Environment Committee to allow for some semblance of a meaningful public hearing — one that called solely because the council is “on the defensive
after taking a media hammering,” as Daniel Heimpel of the LA Weekly put it.
Heimpel’s article carried the headline: “Measure B: Baffled DWP can’t name one “on time” solar project.”
The basis of the headline was a question from
Councilman Tony Cardenas — “the only serious question” that was asked about the largest solar energy initiative ever undertaken in U.S. history.
“Give me one renewables project that is on time and
on budget,” Cardenas asked of the assembled DWP officials. “And don’t give me
‘hydroelectric.’ That is old school.”
The DWP representatives looked at
each other like baffled SEC execs in a Congressional hearing, according to Heimpel. They said they
couldn’t think of a single one, and would get back to Cardenas.
Imagine that. Three weeks before voters are supposed to decide this issue, the DWP not only doesn’t have a plan to carry out this multi-billion-dollar program, they don’t even know what they’ve done in the past.
In every place I know of, if I install solar cells on my roof, I am allowed to sell my excess power to the local utility.
Has anyone considered whether Proposition B is a preemptive strike by DWP to get that excess power for free?
The real definition of DWP is the lights are on but nobody is home. Will get back to you at the end of the day.
You need look no further than the screw-ups at Pine Tree Wind Farm. A doubling or tripling of costs, years late, and a major mistake on the ground lease. Maybe Nick P. will disclose the ugly details.
Good point 3:12 PM; I was wondering the same thing.
At the State Senate Hearing on Water last Friday, the representative from the State Water Board said that we will not have hydroelectric anymore because we do not have the snow pack. We are in a permanent emergency drought condition.
Hey very nice site!! Man .. Excellent .. Amazing .. I’ll bookmark your blog and take the feeds also…I am happy to find a lot of useful info here in the post, we need work out more techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .