The new National Weather Service alert system will apply to all customers and will increase the average annual number of no-shut-off days affected by the policy, according to the DWP.īetween 20, the previous 100-degree threshold applied to between one and 34 days a year, the agency said. The DWP will halt the practice of shutoffs as a debt collection tool for residents enrolled in its EZ-SAVE program and its Senior Citizen Lifeline Discount Program, officials said. “I am requesting that those who are in power - who have in their hands the power to do something for us - that you can please help us,” she said.Ĭalifornia Los Angeles DWP to end water and power shutoffs for low-income customers who can’t pay She noted that hardscaping and a lack of trees and green space have left the area particularly vulnerable to climate change. resident and member of the advocacy group SCOPE, who addressed the board in Spanish. “We are a community that has been greatly impacted,” said Gloria Salinas, a South L.A. Extreme weather often disproportionately affects low-income residents and people in communities of color, who may lack access to air conditioning and other resources to stay safe. It also comes as climate change continues to drive more extreme weather, including blistering heat waves that leave many vulnerable residents at risk. The decision came about seven months after the board passed a similar resolution to suspend water and power shut-offs for low-income residents, senior citizens and other eligible customers enrolled in the DWP’s EZ-Save and Senior Citizen Lifeline Discount Program. The plan “supports LADWP’s continued commitment to protecting the health and safety of all LADWP customers, particularly vulnerable residents like senior citizens, infants, young children and persons with acute medical needs and low-income customers, ensuring all Angelenos equitable access to critical water and essential power services during summer and winter extreme weather conditions,” the agency said in a news release ahead of the vote. It marks a significant change from the previous policy, which only suspended shut-offs for nonpayment when temperatures reached 100 degrees or higher.Īlerts from the weather service, by contrast, assess not only temperature but also other health risk factors such as relative humidity, heat duration in the summer, hypothermia risks in the winter, and average temperatures for the location, the agency said. The unanimous decision by the DWP’s Board of Commissioners will direct the department to adopt local alerts from the National Weather Service as a “trigger” for suspending utility shut-offs during extreme heat and cold weather events, effective immediately. “But they saw this coming.As Southern California braces for its first heat wave of the summer, the board of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on Tuesday voted in favor of a resolution that will cease water and power shut-offs due to nonpayment during extreme weather events.
“I get it, it’s a lot and it’s hard,” she said. “We know that this is frustrating and we appreciate your patience as we work to restore service.”įor her part, Wachs said she knows that the DWP can’t perform miracles. Crews must go from vault to vault to identify the source of the damage, “which can also be time-consuming,” the utility said. Other outages were caused by flooding of underground electrical systems. “Crews have prioritized restoration work involving broken or downed power poles and power lines as those incidents pose a public hazard.” In another tweet Sunday, the utility explained that rain and heavy winds knocked down trees, power lines and poles, and that crews must clear the trees and debris before they can restore service - “which takes time and slows outage restoration work,” the DWP said. California Photos: Yosemite National Park blanketed in snow | Park closed indefinitelyĪll roads inside the park have been restricted to administrative use only.
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