Why Los Angeles can’t afford to go third on clean energy
“Utilities race to be second. And sometimes it’s better to be third.” So said Fred Pickel, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s in-house ratepayer advocate, at a DWP board meeting in December 2019, a few months before the pandemic brought everyday life to a screeching halt. He was discussing the city’s first-of-its-kind plan to convert a coal plant to green hydrogen — a key piece of L.A.’s plans to reach 100% clean energy by 2035. Pickel was intrigued. But he was also concerned that the coal-to-hydrogen conversion would be expensive, driving up electric bills for DWP customers. Five years later, he’s singing the same song. … Pickel now recommends that the city delay its 100% clean energy goal beyond the 2035 target established by former Mayor Eric Garcetti and supported by current Mayor Karen Bass, and endorsed by the City Council.