LADWP Customers to Begin Receiving New, Redesigned Statements this Week

On Wednesday, May 4, 2011 The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) announced that LADWP Customers will begin receiving new, redesigned bill statements this Week. The first batch of the easy-to-read bills has been mailed and will begin arriving in customers’ mailboxes as soon as today.

The new bill is a complete overhaul of the previous bill, which was based on an 18 year-old design. The bill’s wholesale improvements include a larger paper size for reading ease, easy-to-locate charge summaries and payment due dates, convenient color shading of LADWP and City of Los Angeles charges, enhanced graphics featuring customer usage history charts, and an integrated customer newsletter with useful conservation tips and information. Each bill will also feature energy and water conservation tips and customer-specific usage information so individual customers can evaluate their efforts to save water, power and money.


“Our goal is to improve customer service at LADWP. Our prior, antiquated bill format failed to give customers the information they need to understand their water and power use and the basis for the costs on the bill,” said Ronald O. Nichols, LADWP General Manager. “With the improved bill format, our customers now can better understand and manage their energy and water use.”

LADWP worked closely with multiple stakeholders while developing and testing the new bill design: the Los Angeles City Council Energy and Environment Committee and numerous Neighborhood Councils provided valuable input in the bill development process while employees from various divisions within the Department and focus groups consisting of LADWP residential and commercial customers consulted on building a new bill that would address the most common customer concerns.

“The new bill responds to the most frequently asked questions from our customers,” said John X. Chen, Assistant General Manager, LADWP Customer Service Division. “More importantly, it brings our ability to communicate with our customers to a new level.”

As LADWP serves as the billing agent for the City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works Bureau of Sanitation, color coding of LADWP and City of Los Angeles charges will prove useful for differentiating between services. LADWP charges include electric and water charges and City of Los Angeles charges include sewer service, solid resources (trash) and utility tax.

“This is the first step in a longer-term program to update the entire customer information system at LADWP,” said Mr. Nichols. “By 2013, we will have a system that will let us be more responsive to customer needs and inquiries as we replace a 40-year old information system.”

LADWP customers who have paperless billing will notice changes to the online bill immediately. While LADWP bills and envelopes are made with 20% or more post-consumer content recycled paper, all LADWP customers are urged to take advantage of LADWP’s Paperless Billing Service in an effort to reduce the use of natural resources.


To help navigate the new bill, every LADWP customer will receive a copy of the Department’s customer newsletter Connections in English and Spanish, which provides a detailed explanation of the various parts of the new bill. Click here to view a copy of this helpful newsletter. More information about the new bill will be available at all 15 LADWP Customer Service Centers, on the Department website at www.ladwp.com, or by calling 1-800 DIAL DWP.  Commercial customers can call the Commercial Resource Center at 1-800-499-8840 for more information.


About LADWP:
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the nation’s largest municipal utility, provides reliable, low-cost water and power services to Los Angeles residents and businesses in an environmentally responsible manner. LADWP serves about 1.4 million electric customers and 680,000 water customers in Los Angeles. For more information, please visit www.ladwp.com. For the latest news about LADWP, please visitwww.ladwpnews.com. Follow the Department on Twitter: @LADWP.



Source: LADWP Public Affairs

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to select soon New LA Police Chief

On October 27, 2009 LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa  formally accepted the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners’ recommendations for the next Chief of Police. The Police Commission’s top three candidates are-in alphabetical order- Deputy Chief Charles Beck, First Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell and Deputy Chief Michel Moore.

“Choosing the next Chief of Police is the single most important decision I will make for the remainder of my term as Mayor,” said Mayor Villaraigosa.

“This process will be comprehensive and thorough-I will move expeditiously – but will take all the time I need to make the very best decision for the people of Los Angeles.”

At a City Hall press conference with the Police Commission, the Mayor said he will thoroughly evaluate the candidates—not just on experience—but on their character, integrity, and fortitude. The Mayor also stated that he would discuss with the candidates their views on community partnerships, their plans for supporting reforms that have transformed the department, as well as their commitment to the City’s new approach to keep kids out of gangs and to address the root causes of crime.

In preparation for the deliberation of the Police Commission’s recommendations, the Mayor has called upon a distinguished group of experts to provide him with perspectives about the most important leadership attributes the next chief must posses.

The Mayor’s Advisory Group includes the Honorable Lourdes Baird, Stewart Kwoh, Ron Olson, Connie Rice and Warren Christopher, who will serve as its chairman.

In addition to bringing together a highly qualified Advisory Group, Mayor Villaraigosa will seek the counsel of a broad cross section of Angelenos that will include community, religious and law enforcement leaders.

Candidates Brief Biography:
Deputy Chief Charles L. Beck was born in Long Beach, California in 1953. He was educated locally and attended California State University at Long Beach. His father was a Los Angeles Police officer who retired in 1980 at the rank of Deputy Chief.
First Assistant Chief Jim McDonnell has been a member of the Los Angeles Police Department since 1981. He is currently the second in command of the Los Angeles Police Department and serves as the Chief of Staff. As the Chief of Staff, Chief McDonnell handles a myriad of fiscal and political issues involving the Police Department as directed by the Chief of Police.

Deputy Chief Michel R. Moore is a 27-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department, currently assigned as the Commanding Officer, Operations-Valley Bureau. He was born the second of five children in Porterville, California. He grew up in various parts of the United States, graduating high school in Conway, Arkansas. He returned to Southern California and joined the Los Angeles Police Department in October 1981.

In August 2009 Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton resigned as chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Editor Note: Who do you think the Mayor will select to handle this big city safety? Please leave clean comments.

Photo By Esteban Escobar, Diversity News. (C) 2009 By Diversity News Publications.  All Rights Are Reserved.

Source: Office of the Mayor City of Los Angeles ANTONIO R. VILLARAIGOSA