STATEMENT BY LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER REGARDING
SETTLEMENT OF BARAKAT CONSULTING CASE
In the matter of State of California, Barakat Consulting vs. Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has reached a settlement agreement with the plaintiffs which stipulates the total payment of $160 million to be divided among the following entities:
Los Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Los Angeles Community College District
University of California at Los Angeles
State of California
“We respect the Court’s decision in this matter. The Department engaged in good faith settlement discussions that have culminated in a settlement agreement amenable to all parties,” said H. David Nahai, LADWP Chief Executive Officer and General Manager.
The details of the payment agreement include:
- An initial cash payment of $60 million, and $5 million per year for the next three years;
- $67.8 million to be placed in a restricted account and used to analyze energy demand or consumption in order to implement programs designed to lower energy demand or consumption, with the goal to lower and control LADWP power system demand;
- $17.2 million in bill credits to be applied to the plaintiffs’ bills over a period of ten years.
“We are pleased to have fashioned an agreement which will enable energy efficiency improvements and overall lowered energy usage for the plaintiffs in this action. We can also take comfort in the fact that the involved parties are government entities whose constituents are largely LADWP customers. That the beneficiaries of this settlement serve the residents of the City and County of Los Angeles was a prime factor for LADWP to enter settlement negotiations,” Mr. Nahai said.
LADWP would like to reassure all ratepayers our billing practices are absolutely proper. Subsequent to the initiation of the plaintiffs’ lawsuit, California Government Code Section 54999 was amended effective January 2007, thereby validating our actions and upholding the LADWP billing practices that were in question in this case.
Litigation notwithstanding, the Department remains on excellent terms with the parties involved in this action. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power looks forward to putting this dispute to rest and building close productive relationships with these entities, our sister agencies.
