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LA WATCHDOG -
The Office of Public Accountability / Ratepayer Advocate is a City Charter mandated Office that was created to provide public independent analysis of Department of Water and Power (DWP) actions as they relate to water and electricity rates. OPA is charged with shedding greater light on DWP's operations and finances and analyzing proposed changes in water and power rates independent of the DWP and City Officials. All direct and indirect costs of the OPA are reimbursed by the DWP.
The Office of Public Accountability / Ratepayer Advocate is one of the most important City departments because it provides Ratepayers with insight into our water and power rates and the Department’s operations and finances. And over the last 12 years, Ratepayer Advocate Fred Pickel, in his quiet way, has earned our trust and confidence for his ability to work with DWP management and City Hall and still manage to protect Ratepayers’ wallets by providing us with his candid assessments.
For example, Pickel said that the escalation in rates and bills associated with DWP’s plan for the Power System to rely on 100% Renewables by 2035 was “not reasonable,” causing heartburn for many of our elected elite and their green cronies who did not appreciate objective criticism of their pet project.
Over the next decade, the role of the independent Ratepayer Advocate will be of paramount importance because DWP will be attempting to implement an overly ambitious transition that is expected to cost more than $100 billion, causing our bills to quadruple. This includes the LA 100 Renewables Plan by 2035, the Power Supply Reliability Program, the development of local water supplies, and the Pure Water Los Angeles recycling facility at Hyperion.
But given the importance of the Ratepayer Advocate, why has it taken so long to find a successor to Pickel?
On March 17, 2013, the City Clerk notified Mayor Bass that Pickel’s term expired on December 12, 2023. Bass waited over seven months to appoint her representatives to the Citizens Selection Committee charged with finding Pickel’s successor. It took another ten months to retain Korn Ferry, a leading executive search firm. And now, after another six months, we still do not have a successor to Pickel.
Fortunately, Pickel has put off his departure by 14 months and has agreed to serve until a new Ratepayer Advocate has been hired. He will also aid in the transition, although a significant portion of the institutional memory has been lost with the departure of Camden Collins and Grant Hoag, experts in power and water, respectively.
Why has it taken almost two years since the City Clerk notified Bass that Pickel’s commission was expiring? Is it because City Hall is opposed to transparency, especially when it comes to reviewing its pet projects that will quadruple our bills? Is it because of an incompetent City bureaucracy? Or a clueless Mayor? Most likely, a combination of factors, but transparency is the top of the list.
Over the next several months, the Department will be under considerable pressure to explain its role in the Palisades Fire. Why was the Santa Ynez Reservoir out of service? Why wasn’t it repaired? Did the IBEW delay the repair? Why were so many fire hydrants out of service? Did the Fire Department provide proper notice and follow up?
Inquiring minds want to know. And given our lack of trust and confidence in City Hall, we will rely on an independent Ratepayer Advocate, hopefully of the quality of Fred Pickel, to provide unbiased answers and facts.
(Jack Humphreville writes LA Watchdog for CityWatch. He is the President of the DWP Advocacy Committee, the Budget and DWP representative for the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council, and a Neighborhood Council Budget Advocate. He can be reached at: [email protected].)
