Angelenos packed Tuesday’s Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Board of Commissioners meeting to voice concerns over rising utility bills, while others gathered in the halls to watch a livestream.
Micah Reed, a former UCLA football player and creator of the “Cap the Heat Tax” petition, formally addressed the board, joining numerous other petition signers who also spoke out. Reed delivered the petition, which had garnered nearly 40,000 signatures in less than four weeks, and called for an independent audit. He thanked both mayoral candidates Nithya Raman and Karen Bass for calling for the same.
“I am not here to argue how much power my family used,” Reed said. “I am here because I can’t tell how my bill was calculated.”
Reed urged the board to be transparent about how bills are calculated, posing three main questions: “Who will conduct it, when will it start, and will the results be made public?”
Commission President Allan T. Marks said LADWP should and does provide transparency, but acknowledged that the department could do a better job educating the public about how and why customers are charged. He said the department is moving toward smart meters, which will improve effici...