Results tagged “conservation strategy group” from Ron Kaye L.A.

Back on Aug. 11, David Zahniser in the LATimes reported that the DWP was trying to hire former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez as a lobbyist in Sacramento because officials were worried AB 32 -- the 2006 bill he wrote -- would result in a "cap and trade" program forcing utilities to buy expensive pollution credits to offset their coal-burning plants.

Spokesman Joe Ramallo said "cap and trade" could result in a "massive transfer of ratepayer money" away from the DWP, which has the most coal-burning plants in the state, generating more than 45 percent of the city's power from those pollution-causing facilities.

What was proposed was for the DWP to spend $2.4 million over four years to hire lobbyists with the Conservation Strategy Group-- including $120,000 a year for Nunez through his firm Mercury Public Affairs -- to gut enforcement of Assembly Bill 32, the 2006 law that requires reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

It's no coincidence the hit on the DWP would come the same year the mayor promised in his inaugural address in July to "eliminate the use of coal by 2020."

DWP Commission President Lee Alpert balked at the proposal, partly because of Nunez's role and partly because the DWP already has former Assemblyman Cindy Montanez as a $180,000 per year lobbyist, plus the largest legislative delegation in the state who presumably would do all the can to help the local utility.

That's what makes what happened at the DWP Commission meeting last week so interesting.



The Commission unanimously approved a six-month contract with Conservation Strategy Group for $267,500 with several conditions No subcontracting, meaning nothing for Nunez, and it will only be used to influence the water bond and infrastructure proposals that won legislative approval on the day the lobbying contract was approved.

In other words, Conservation Strategy Group was in line to get $300,000 every six months, less the $60,000 for Nunez. Now they're getting $27,500 more than they would have under the  original proposal.

If you think the six-months term of the contract means anything, listen to General Manager David Freeman in this video dodge straight answers to questions while stating the the lobbying firm's previous contract "expired" but it was still working for DWP without a contract at its own "risk."

Freeman glibly offers no reason for the contract other than the water legislation and the $11 billion water bond issue -- LA County gets $1 billion of it under a last-minute deal. Since those measures already were on their way to the governor, what was exactly is Conservation Strategy Group doing isn't clear -- and the commissioners didn't ask.

Maybe they all know but it's a secret they didn't want to share.

The fact is Freeman admits to serial contracts with this lobbying firm and indicates they will be extended further in six months unless the newly-hired $200,000-a-year director of external affairs, Wally Knox -- the former Assemblyman, DWP commissioner and recent Harbor Department consultant -- is able to handle the job himself, with Montanez's help, of course.

Who are they kidding? This is nothing but the same old DWP story: Ratepayers' money means nothing as long as they can keep getting more of it to hand out to Brian D'Arcy's union and contractors and consultants of one sort or another without regard to the value of services provided.

Poor David Freeman, here he is rich enough to enjoy a luxurious retirement at the ripe old age of 83, and renowned enough to bask in the glow of his achievements.

Yet he's taken on the dirtiest job in town as general manager of  the Department of Water and Power at a time when the nation's largest municipal utility is under siege from all directions.

And he's off to a terrible start that calls into question his ability to do the job even on the six-month interim basis he says he is committed to serve.

He stood up the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council for a scheduled appearance one night, perhaps because he couldn't catch a ride since he doesn't drive. Then, he got stood down by the City Council over proposed water rate increases and pressure for an independent Ratepayer Advocate's Office.

It is only going to get worse.

From Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's second inaugural speech, July 2, 2009:

"Moving forward we're aiming to get 40% of our power from renewable sources by 2020 and go 60% carbon-free by the end of the next decade."Today, I am directing the CEO of the Department of Water and Power to take every action necessary to reach these goals and eliminate the use of coal by 2020. Meanwhile, we're going to move beyond the clean air action plan - the most aggressive effort to cut emissions at any port worldwide. We are going to electrify goods movement at our harbor."

That's the order the mayor gave DWP head David Nahai just six weeks ago and is the principal reason the DWP is in the process of getting approval for unlimited rate increases that will double or triple electricity bills in the next decade.

So why in the world is the DWP proposing to spend $2.4 million to hire lobbyists with the Conservation Strategy Group-- including $120,000 a year for former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez through his firm Mercury Public Affairs -- to gut enforcement of Assembly Bill 32, the 2006 law that requires reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, the same year DWP will have eliminated its coal dependency?

The DWP already has its own team of expensive lobbyists on the payroll -- including former Assemblywoman Cindy Montanez at $180,000 a year -- even though it's not subject to most state regulations like private utilities.

David Zahniser in the Times reports the DWP's explanation is that they are worried AB 32 will result in a "cap and trade" program that requires utilities that rely on coal power, to purchase expensive pollution credits.

Nahai wouldn't talk to Zahniser abou it but spokesman Joe Ramallo said "cap and trade" could result in a "massive transfer of ratepayer money" away from the utility/

Nunez also was coy about talking but Glenn Gritzner, managing director of Mercury's L.A. office, declared: "It could be implemented in a way that costs the ratepayers a heck of a lot of money."

Who are us poor folks who pay the bills to believe?

The mayor says no coal by 2020. His team at the DWP says penalizing utilities that still rely on coal in 2020 will cost a fortune. Does that mean they aren't really going to achieve his goal and already know it?

Maybe the mayor's plan is phony and DWP officials are just throwing more ratepayer money at insiders like Nunez.

Whatever the truth is -- and you never know either with the DWP or the mayor -- the only certainty is rates will continue to soar and the DWP will remain a cash cow for City Hall.

When the MTA, the LAUSD and the LAPD all lost the confidence of the public because of scandals of one sort or another, the answer was to put in place an inspector general with independence to serve as the public's watchdog.

Needless to say, our elected elected have done their best to water down the independence of these watchdogs over time but they still provide at least some protection for the public interest.

This DWP lobbying contract is just one of a hundred reasons why we need a Ratepayer Advocate -- the organizational equivalent of an inspector general -- to keep an independent and watchful eye on where the money goes and how our utility operates.

The commission that oversees the DWP has stalled this contract for the moment but it has neither the staff nor the independence to be a public watchdog.

That's a lot of what's wrong with City Hall. The commission system is a failure, corrupted by our elected officials to be little more than a rubber stamp system of approving whatever they want, for whatever reasons they want.

This has never been clearer than in the last year. Ever since Nick Patsaouras and Jane Usher resigned key commission positions last year in disgust with what was going on, the mayor with agreement of the City Council has stacked the "juice" commissions like DWP, harbor, airports, planning with people tied to the very special interests that benefit from city policies.

City Hall needs major reforms to bring the public in as a partner and to provide oversight and accountability. A DWP ratepayer advocate is one of those reforms and should be implemented quickly.