Fleishman-Hillard Defends Its DWP Work

In the 58-year history of Fleishman-Hillard, we have never experienced allegations remotely like those facing us today in Los Angeles.

While we understand and accept media scrutiny, we believe the ongoing coverage suggests our work added little or no value to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power or its ratepayers. We disagree.

Outstanding work was done by the DWP and Fleishman-Hillard to address operational, educational and marketplace challenges.

For example, our public relations firm assisted in a marketing program that helped DWP secure 22 of its largest electric customers to long-term contracts, representing nearly $1 billion in annual revenue through the life of the contracts.

Fleishman-Hillard helped the DWP promote a number of successful water conservation programs. While the L.A. population increased significantly over the last 10 years, water usage remained stable.

The DWP, with communication support from Fleishman-Hillard, educated customers about more efficient energy usage, particularly during the California energy crisis. The result was 350 million kilowatts of energy conservation.

Fleishman-Hillard generated 900-plus media placements for the DWP, reaching more than 300 million potential readers, viewers and listeners, keeping the public informed and educating customers.

Fleishman-Hillard would never knowingly tolerate improper behavior and will keep its promise to take appropriate action, including reimbursing the city for any unjustified charges.

But the DWP had good reason to seek experienced outside counsel, and our firm provided a great deal of value in the six years we worked for the department.

Richard S. Kline

Fleishman-Hillard

Regional President

& Senior Partner

Gen. Manager-Los Angeles