L.A. Plans Rebates for Cutting Back on Power

Los Angeles plans to cut the electricity rates of customers who conserve power this summer in a move meant to help other parts of the state avert blackouts.

Under a plan approved Tuesday by the city water and power board, a typical residential customer would get a $4 monthly credit for consuming 10% less electricity than in the same period last year. They would also, of course, pay lower bills overall.

Commercial customers would be eligible for credits, although the size would depend on their specific rate plan.

The “Cash for Conservation” plan would last from June 1 to Sept. 30. The credits would be reflected in bills beginning Oct. 1.

By conserving during summer months of peak demand, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power could sell surplus electricity to the state for areas threatened by blackouts, city officials said.

Nearly all of the department’s 1.4 million customers would be eligible.

“Angelenos have to lead the way in the state and the nation, showing how much we can conserve,” Mayor Richard Riordan said.

The plan is subject to City Council approval. Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, who heads the council’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee, supports conservation but has not reviewed the plan, a spokeswoman said.

The program is similar to an emergency conservation plan ordered by Gov. Gray Davis last month. It offers rebates to customers of California’s three private utilities if they cut power use this summer, but it would not cover those served by municipal utilities such as the DWP.

The DWP, the nation’s largest municipal utility, has avoided the soaring electricity rates and rolling blackouts that have hit customers of the private utilities.

Because it controls its own power, Los Angeles faces no threat of blackouts this summer, so it can afford to sell surplus power--with a 15% markup--to the state, officials said. The power sales would enable Los Angeles to recoup the cost of the rate cuts, Riordan said.

“It’s break even if the state buys our energy,” he said.

Michael Shames, the executive director of the Utility Consumers’ Action Network in San Diego, said Los Angeles probably would do better than break even.

“This is a moneymaker for them,” he said. “This is good business. This isn’t charity.”

City officials offered a menu of suggestions to consumers seeking to conserve:

* Raise the setting on air conditioner thermostats by at least 1 degree.

* Sweep or vacuum the coils beneath or behind refrigerators to keep the air flow clear. Open the refrigerator door less often. Eliminate cold-air leaks.

* Replace high-watt incandescent lightbulbs with low-watt, compact fluorescent bulbs. Turn off lights whenever possible.

For residential customers, the monthly credit would be doubled to $8 for those who cut consumption about 20% below the same period last year. Power officials said that would be very difficult for most customers, but Riordan was optimistic. “Anybody who takes it half seriously can get the 20%,” he said.

Commercial customers would get credits for conservation. Those whose rates depend on the time of day would get an $8 credit for each 100 kilowatt-hours saved between 1 and 5 p.m. on weekdays. Those who pay a flat rate would get a $4 credit for every 50 kilowatt-hours conserved.

S. David Freeman, the DWP general manager, said city officials were “happy to do our part to ensure an adequate energy supply for the state.”

Freeman is leaving his city job this week to become the governor’s top energy advisor. The city water and power board named Freeman’s chief of staff, Frank Salas, as his interim replacement. Riordan and board President Kenneth T. Lombard said Freeman’s successor would be named after a new mayor is elected in June.