Antonio Villaraigosa’s sputtering political machine has taken its best shot with Monday’s release of a custom-made analysis that looks into the crystal ball of future developments and provides a statistical guess that Measure B will only add $1 a month to our electrical bills.
If they put it in writing, we should all sign up for long-term contracts. You can’t beat the price, which is based on a stunning decline in estimates for the cost of solar energy from 70 cents a kilowatt to 12 cents, according to the statistical guesswork in the Huron Consulting report solar-HuronReport.pdf released Monday.
I’m all but certain the price will fall to nothing by March 3 if we keep up the pressure. And we won’t have the nation’s dirtiest air or worst traffic congestion or gang problems anymore. Kids will all learn to read and write and we’ll all be rich and happy. It will just take another study.
The plain truth is nobody knows. There are too many variables and Measure B doesn’t define anything beyond giving DWP a monopoly on ownership, installation and maintenance of rooftop solar units — and even that like everything else in Measure B can be changed by a simple majority vote of the nodding heads of the City Council which has managerial control of all aspects of this boondoggle, even decisions about who gets billions of dollars in contracts.
Meanwhile, the groundswell against Measure B continued to gain momentum.
The Daily News found the Huron report unconvincing, saying:it comes down to whether you “trust” city officials.
And the.Reseda Neighborhood Council came out against B Monday night Members of the Westchester Neigbhborhoods Association, where I spoke Monday night, were overwhelmingly supportive of the “No on B” position as well.
You can help get the word out by visiting http://nomeasureb.com/ and contributing whatever you can.
All the Yes on B campaign has is lies and deceits. The highly critical report on Measure B and the managerial failings of DWP by PA dwp-iea.pdf — is still being suppressed like its earlier version even though it was completed two weeks ago.
David Zahniser in the L.A. TImes today reports PA Consulting was passed over for doing the solar cost analysis although it had been paid $1 million to conduct a yearlong review of all DWP operations and policies. The firm had to apologize for its criticisms of DWP and how it’s analysis of the problems with the solar plan became public but even that didn’t help it win the solar cost contract.
“I’m also sorry that (this) incident has caused the DWP to re-evaluate
having P.A. assist in the upcoming Strategic Planning off site
[meeting] and helping with the process generally. I think we were
making excellent progress and that we would have added significant
value in assisting you,” a PA Consulting analyst wrote to DWP General Manager H. David
Nahai.
in his usual smarmy way, Nahai dismissed PA Consulting: “They put out a report that was rushed, superficial and based on
outdated information, and I think they want to distance themselves from
it.”
Controller Laura Chick the only city official who actually could pass a test on Measure B offered a different point of view, calling Nahai’s decision not to select P.A. Consulting “disturbing.”
“Is
it that the DWP hires consultants who tell them what they want to hear
and everybody else gets shut out? Because that makes me very, very
nervous,” she said.
As the Daily News editorialized: “This disparity between the two reports – one
conducted as a requirement of the City Charter, the other one
commissioned by officials selling the solar initiative – only adds to
the uncertainty of the measure…Whose version are you going to believe?”
“The Daily News found the Huron report unconvincing, saying:it comes down to whether you “trust” city officials.”
LOL! Case closed! NO on Measure “B”!!!
I see in Boyarsky’s post on LAObserved that David Freeman claims this thing was all his idea when he ran DWP. So why doesn’t the mayor dump that pompous jerk Nahai and put the crazy old fart back in his old job so he can take responsibility for this nutty, ill-conceived proposal?
The Huron report hedges all its forecasts with the phrase “Assuming effective program oversight and implementation” (page 20). Huron does not claim to have looked into DWP’s ability to implement a program of this magnitude.
On the other hand, PA did look at this ability. Their 223 page report explicitly says that DWP cannot handle “effective program oversight and implementation”.
This by itself makes the Huron report meaningless.
David Freeman is far from an objective observer. He is a business partner with Villaraigosa insider Ari Swiller and former Enron executive Cole Frates in businesses that are teed up to make money off of public investment in alternative energy.
Solar, wind, hydrogen — if it’s alternative “green” energy and there are government-funded contracts to be had, you’ll find these guys lurking nearby. Watch for water deals as well…
Want more information? Google “Freeman”, “Swiller” “Frates” and follow the links to information about their hydrogen fuels business.
Then google “swiller and frates” and follow those links to other alternative energy businesses.
Then google “renewable resource group”, the swiller-frates investment vehicle that just bought a large property near bakersfield identified as a prime wind farming venue…
These guys are positioning themselves to make a fortune on public and private spending for alternative energy / renewable sources of power and water.
There’s nothing wrong with that, necessarily. They may be great businessmen, and great guys. I’d just like to see full disclosure of their business interests when they start taking advocacy positions a la Freeman…
Mayor Villaripoff and DWP GM Na-is-high are smoking far too much medical grade pot. Using smoke and mirrors and corrupted reports they expect us to believe the cost for this solar scam is going to be $1.00 a month. If you believe in this then please sign up for Mayor Villaripoff’s next sub way ride to the moon. Sit back and enjoy the cool breezes, sip on pina coladas while our ratepayer’s pockets get picked.
Where’s the beef? The Huron “report” on the LADWP website is just a simple PowerPoint Presentation.
http://www.ladwpnews.com/posted/1475/Measure_B_Analysis.251664.pdf
From: Controller Chick [mailto:controller.chick@lacity.org]
Sent: Tue 02/03/2009 15:50
To: Controller Chick
Subject: CONTROLLER’S IN-DEPTH BRIEFING ON DWP REVIEW
Dear Friend:
Please join me this Thursday, February 5th, at 11:00 a.m. as I release the important Industrial and Engineering Assessment of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. A presentation will be given by the authors of the report, P.A. Consulting, followed by Q & A. This significant report is mandated by the City Charter and is an intensive examination of the major issues facing this giant public corporation, upon which rests the well-being of our City.
The briefing will be held in my office at 200 North Main Street, Room 351. Since space in limited, please RSVP by return e-mail. If you would like parking, please send me your car make, model, and license plate number.
I look forward to seeing you on Thursday.
Best regards,
LAURA
It appears that in order to get the rebates that the LADWP would want, they would need a private sector partner – a Warren Buffet – to invest in the solar technology / geothermal facilities that will be implemented. So we will have an ENRON all over again – an investment firm that needs to make a profit.
The whole concept of the green pathway (not mentioned in Measure B) is for the LADWP to own the energy pathway to the alternative resources.
Why are we letting a middle man into this picture?
The Huron Report refers to solar thin film technology. There is no reference to this technology in Measure B.
In fact, Measure B does not tell us anything about what is being implemented.
Please tell me – the LADWP plans to put solar collectors on all of the flat rooftops in this view – all pointing at the right angles to best capture the sun. All of these panels will be viewed from the other high end high rises in the City. Won’t it be a beautiful sight when it is done?
Sorry – the website will not let me post the view.
Mr. Kaye – will you?
“In California, there is no right to air, light, or unobstructed view.”
http://www.dgsllp.com/articles/article_view_protection.html
We all want solar energy – we all want wind, geothermal, and other forms of alternative energy
(please skip the nuclear).
Would you sign a contract to build a new house that is 4000 square feet without knowing what it will cost, where it will go, who is going to build it, do they have a license and insurance, who is pulling all of the permits, do you have releases from all of the HOAs, what it is going to look like, what the quality of the materials are, is the structure safe if there is an earthquake, what will happen if it is struck by lightening, can you get insurance???????
Thank you for a great post