On August 6, Janisse Qui\u00f1ones, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Engineer at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, was in Mojave for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Eland Solar-plus-Storage Project. \u201cThis celebration marks a critical step toward LADWP\u2019s accelerated goal of 100% clean energy by 2035,\u201d Qui\u00f1ones said.<\/p>\n
On the same day, the LADWP issued a \u201cboil water notice\u201d for Porter Ranch and Granada Hills. \u201cEffective immediately, customers located within the affected area need to boil their water before using it to drink, cook, make ice cubes, prepare food such as washing vegetables, or to brush teeth until further notice,\u201d the utility said.<\/p>\n
And there, in microcosm, is what\u2019s wrong with the city-owned utility, now fully captured by pointless climate-change alarmism.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s important to remember that what California does has no effect on the global climate. The whole state accounts for 1% of global greenhouse gases, so we could close down every utility, refinery, manufacturer and dairy, and it would make no difference to the climate. The state\u2019s costly policies are not \u201cleadership.\u201d They\u2019re blithering idiocy.<\/p>\n
A broken valve caused 9,200 LADWP customers to have no water service for a week, which is a reminder that the aging water and power infrastructure in Los Angeles needs a certain amount of timely maintenance and replacement. But the department\u2019s spending priorities are elsewhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And we still don\u2019t have accountability for the empty reservoir and dry hydrants that contributed to the devastation in the Pacific Palisades in January. It\u2019s almost as if changes to personnel or policies might distract from the preferred narrative that \u201cclimate change\u201d caused the fire catastrophe.<\/p>\n
So Qui\u00f1ones was in the desert on August 6, cutting a ribbon. \u201cThis celebration marks a critical step toward LADWP\u2019s accelerated goal of 100% clean energy by 2035,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to L.A.\u2019s Office of Public Accountability, implementing the \u201cLA100\u201d plan will raise rates by about 7.7% per year. \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t blindly charge ahead for 2035 come hell or high water,\u201d the ratepayer advocate said last July.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Mayor Karen Bass said she was \u201cproud to continue Los Angeles\u2019 global leadership on climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Eland Solar-plus-Storage facility cost $2 billion and has the capacity to produce 758 megawatts of solar electricity paired with 300 megawatts of battery power that can last four hours. Under ideal conditions, it can produce 7% of the electricity needed by Los Angeles, enough to power \u201cmore than 266,000 homes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The facility was described by the Los Angeles Times as being \u201cas large as 13 Dodger stadiums, parking lots included.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need about 10 more of these to hit our goals,\u201d said Qui\u00f1ones.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Really? To meet the LA100 plan target, ratepayers will have to pay for another $20 billion of facilities and see utility equipment cover enough land for 130 Dodger stadiums, including parking lots?\u00a0<\/p>\n
It likely will cost much more than $20 billion due to interest payments on LADWP debt.<\/p>\n
Bond rating agencies generally approve of LADWP\u2019s credit quality because customers have to pay whatever the city charges. But there could be liability ahead for the wildfire damage, and in the view of one rating agency<\/a>, \u201cLADWP\u2019s ability to maintain rate affordability and strong financial metrics while meeting highly capital-intensive energy transition mandates is an evolving credit challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n