Planned Layoffs at Dept. of Water and Power

Re “DWP Plan Lists 2,000 Layoffs,” Oct. 29: As a citizen of Los Angeles I consider myself a shareholder in the DWP. I am pleased that the mayor is going to hold the new department head accountable for cleaning up the $4-billion bad debt. I would like to hold someone accountable at the next election. Who was mayor, who was on the City Council and who were the city commissioners when this bad debt was run up?

LARRY BURKS

San Pedro

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As a DWP engineer with 17 years of dedicated service, I, like many co-workers, feel betrayed by the remarks made by Brian D’Arcy, the business manager of the local IBEW.

In your Oct. 29 article, D’Arcy was quoted as saying, “No one will notice. Those people don’t have anything to do with delivering service,” referring to the proposed layoffs of 2,000 white-collar managers and engineers. To add insult to injury, he also applauded the general manager’s plan of not offering severance payments.

From the early days, when our founding engineers devised plans to bring water and power to Los Angeles, to the aftermath of the most recent earthquake, we, the engineers at DWP have always responded to the city’s needs with genuine care. Many of us gathered in our downtown headquarters just minutes after the earthquake to respond to a citywide emergency, some without being called to duty. I am proud to be partly responsible in restoring power service to a dozen or so vital but severely damaged stations in the San Fernando Valley.

While all of us here recognize that the department must be reorganized in order to compete in the newly deregulated market, white- and blue-collar workers must come together to face this unprecedented crisis facing us all. The least we expect then is a word of support from D’arcy and his union.

JACK N. SAMARA

North Hills

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Your Oct. 30 editorial regarding the DWP stated that “come Jan. 1 when deregulation takes effect, privately owned utilities such as Edison will be able to sell power direct to DWP’s . . . customers.”

The California Public Utilities Commission decided May 6, 1997, that all customers of investor-owned utilities will have the option of choosing their power provider on Jan. 1. This decision does not apply to DWP and its customers. Municipal utilities, such as DWP, are under the jurisdiction of their individual city councils and are not governed by the CPUC. The Los Angeles City Council will decide whether or not to offer customers their choice of energy service provider.

The council has yet to make this decision. Should they decide to do nothing, the DWP will remain the sole source of electricity for the citizens of the city, with an efficient operation, offering competitive rates, as has been the case for many decades.

The cutbacks proposed by the new general manager may be needed, and certainly should be investigated, but need not be driven by forces in an uncertain future “competitive market.”

MARK HOLLAND

Granada Hills