Forget 'easy' - look at what these peeps in CA are gonna be coughin' up for the fiction known as 'green energy' ... and 'green doctors' ... please ... and, since stuff like this spreads from West to East ... riiiiiiiiiiiiight - you got it ... Oh - note WHO the mayor appeared with - say 'payoff' ...

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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dwp-rates16-2010mar16,0,7870063.story

DWP rates may rise between 8% and 28% to pay for mayor's green initiatives

The hike would pay for more aggressive conservation programs and a solar plan designed to create 16,000 jobs as well as cover the fluctuating price of coal and natural gas.

By David Zahniser and Phil Willon | March 15, 2010 | 11:21 p.m.

Households that get their power from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power could see their electric bills go up between 8.8% and 28.4%, depending on where they live and how much energy they use, under a plan unveiled Monday by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Appearing with labor and environmental leaders, Villaraigosa said the proposed increases would ensure that the DWP meets his goal of securing 20% of its energy from renewable sources such as wind and solar by Dec. 31.

The increased revenue would help pay for new environmental initiatives, including more aggressive conservation programs and a solar initiative designed to create 16,000 jobs.

But it also would address the DWP's failure to collect enough money to cover the cost of existing renewable energy initiatives and the fluctuating price of coal and natural gas, utility officials said.

"Nobody's denying that this is a big increase -- at least I'm not," said DWP Acting General Manager S. David Freeman. "Because we've put it off so . . . long, [ratepayers] have saved money in the last three years."

The mayor has been talking for weeks about the need for the DWP to charge more. Monday was the first day his team showed its estimate of the effects on consumers of the increase, which is scheduled to be phased in over a full year starting next month.

Under the plan, households that use the smallest amount of electricity -- technically known as Tier 1 customers -- would see an average increase of 8.8%. Those customers make up 58% of the DWP's residential ratepayers.

Tier 2 customers, who use more power and make up 36% of the utility's residential customers, would see an average increase of 16.8% to 18.9%. Tier 3 customers, who use the most power and make up the remaining 6%, would face hikes in their electric bills of 24.4% to 28.4%, according to documents provided by the mayor's office.

In the hotter San Fernando Valley, where ratepayers receive a slight break on their bills, the average Tier 1 customer would see monthly electric bills jump from $38.76 to $42.17 by April 2011. A Tier 2 customer in the Valley would see the monthly bill increase from $92.19 to $107.60, according to the proposal.

Businesses would see increases in the average bill ranging from 20% to 26%. Any increase would become less steep, however, once ratepayers adopt conservation measures or find ways to install solar panels and sell the excess power to the DWP, mayoral aides said.

The DWP board, whose members are appointed by the mayor, must approve the plan for the increases to go into effect; the proposal goes before the board Thursday. The City Council will review the plan in upcoming weeks and can affirm it or send it back for more work.

The mayor also warned that more increases would be needed to reach his next goal: securing 40% of the DWP's power from renewable sources by 2020.

"We could have raised our fees even more to address the long-term goal of taking us to 40% renewables by 2020 and coal-free," he said. "We knew we had to do this incrementally."

Either way, the proposal drew complaints from a Westside neighborhood activist, who described the increase as a hidden tax.

Mike Eveloff, president of the Tract 7260 Homeowners Assn., criticized the mayor for seeking more money at the same time the DWP is providing at least $220 million annually to balance the city's budget. "As long as the DWP is showing a surplus, then they have no rational reason for seeking a rate increase," he said.

Once all the increases are in place, the DWP will receive an additional $648 million per year.

Villaraigosa said the money would help pay for the hiring of "green doctors" to evaluate the energy efficiency of homes and stepped-up efforts to help residents obtain energy-efficient lightbulbs and refrigerators.

One union leader said residents would support the increases once they knew how the money would be spent.

"When they see that there is a clear-cut plan to do what we need to do in this city -- which is to be more green, to create jobs -- then I think that most people . . . are willing to go along with that," said Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer of the L.A. County Federation of Labor.

Green movement=Government sponsored mafia.Interesting how they keep jacking up the rates to record levels only to have the electric companies reaping in record profits.We have been hearing this enviromental BS since 1988.Think of all we have done.All the recycling.The emissons BS,green this and green that,yet has that helped the general public in any way?Hell no!We have bent over backwards with regulations,new taxes,cleaner gasoline,and all we ever get for it from the government is a middle finger and a nice tax increase.Piss on them!


Seriously if I was one of these people and I lived in the country I would get solar panels or use a generator.Hit these people where it hurts the most.Their pocket book!


Don't allow Smartmeters to be installed in your home!!!!!!!


http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_14107786

SAN FRANCISCO — Consumer backlash and cost concerns may cause delays in the nationwide rollout of "smart" utility meters at the center of the Obama administration's $8 billion push to update the U.S. electricity grid.

PG&E Corp., owner of California's largest utility, halted meter installations in Bakersfield after hundreds of customers complained that readings weren't accurate. The meters, part of a so-called smart-grid initiative billed as clearing the way for more renewable-energy use, are designed to help consumers conserve power during periods of peak demand.

Martha Johnson, pastor of a church in Bakersfield, said her utility bill almost doubled from a year earlier to $874 in July after her new meter was installed. "That caught my eye because I've never had a bill that high," said Johnson, 64.

San Francisco-based PG&E, which faces a lawsuit from a Bakersfield customer who's seeking class-action status, says its meters are accurate, and hot weather and increased rates led to higher bills than consumers expected. The state Utilities Commission ordered an independent study of billing accuracy.

Whether PG&E's complaints stem from perception or defects, they may slow installation of the meters, a cornerstone of President Barack Obama's plan to spur grid upgrades with $8 billion in public-private funding. Consumer groups question whether benefits of the meters justify costs passed on when regulators allow utilities
to increase rates to pay for them.

"If customers lose confidence in smart meters, I would expect regulators would be more reluctant to grant rate increases to install new meters across the system," said Travis Miller, a utility analyst at Morningstar Inc. in Chicago. "Any kind of adverse impact from these projects could impact long- term growth of the meters."

The devices allow utilities to check energy use remotely, eliminating the need for employing meter readers. They can be connected to equipment that shows customers when rates are highest, allowing households and other consumers to shift power use to less-costly periods. Smart meters also give utilities more control of demand, helping them match usage with renewable electricity flows, such as from wind and solar power.

There are about 8 million smart electric meters in the U.S., and that count will jump sevenfold by 2019, according to the Institute for Electric Efficiency in Washington.

"Other states are looking very closely at what is happening in California," said Mindy Spatt, a spokeswoman for the Utility Reform Network, a consumer group in San Francisco. "What we know for sure about the meters is they are job killers, and they are very expensive. The rest is just pie in the sky."

Utility-consumer groups across the country have raised cost concerns about meter projects, said Charles Acquard, executive director of the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates.

Ben Schuman, an analyst who covers meter makers for Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Ore., said the devices installed so far have proved accurate. The unknown is whether consumers will use the technology to cut power costs, he said.

Regulators in states such as Connecticut and Texas are pressing utilities to show how smart meters will benefit consumers. In November, Indiana regulators rejected a proposal by Duke Energy to install about 800,000 smart meters after concluding the company didn't show the plan's long-term rewards.

Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy, which got $200 million in federal funding to deploy smart meters and other equipment in three states, will reapply in January for approval in Indiana, company spokesman Dave Scanzoni said.

Bakersfield resident Pete Flores filed suit in October, alleging that his bills almost tripled after a smart meter was put in. Lawyer Michael Kelly, who represents Flores, said he plans to file an updated suit with more plaintiffs in January.

"The allegations in the lawsuit are untrue," PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno said.

PG&E tested meters in Bakersfield and found they were working properly, Moreno said. The company is installing 12,000 to 15,000 meters a day in Central California and the Bay Area.

PG&E has investigated more than 400 customer complaints, mostly from Bakersfield and other areas where hot weather and rate increases as high as 22 percent caused power bills to surge, Moreno said. Bakersfield had 17 days of triple-digit temperatures in July, up from six days a year earlier, according to the National Weather Service.