Photo by countess of maybe via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Today, our computer is not about to explode like it was for the past two days in the sweltering heat. "The National Weather Service forecast highs for Thursday of between 69 and 79 near the Los Angeles County coast, 86 to 94 inland, 84 to 94 in the San Fernando Valley, 87 to 92 in the San Gabriel Valley, 88 and 93 in......

One day of fall heat was bearable, but two days of heat and citizens just don't care anymore. Damnit, they're turning on the AC. From the DWP at 5:18 p.m. today: "Customers' energy use hit a new record today of 5,709 megawatts, shattering the previous record of 5,123 megawatts set Oct. 2, 1991. On Tuesday, energy use reached a peak demand of 5,533 megawatts, marking a record demand for fall and the fifth highest September......

As temperatures reached high temperatures today, the LA Department of Water & Power announced spiked energy usage by residents this afternoon and is urging energy conservation. "Any time energy demand exceeds 5000 megawatts we need to begin conserving wherever possible, while not jeopardizing anyone's health or safety," said David Nahai, LADWP General Manager and Chief Executive Officer, in a e-mail notice. The DWP expects demand to reach up to 5500 megawatts. Has anyone run over......

Photo by ZigZagLens via LAist Feautred Photos on Flickr A malfunctioning transformer caused a small grass fire and some power outages at LAX late this morning. The outage is affecting three international flights on the remote West end of the airport as DWP workers move to restore power to the area. The planes, each are carrying over 200 passengers to Tokyo, Santiago and Shanghai, cannot leave their gates because the attached pedestrian walkways need......

The neighborhood around trendy Melrose Ave. just continues to take a beating. Various street robberies and now fake Deptartment of Water and Power employees robbing the elderly (which we've seen before). Here's the latest from the local neighborhood watch: Two men wearing what looked like official DWP workmen's vests knocked on an elderly couples door in the 700 Block of Curson Avenue during the 9 AM hour this morning (9/22) and asked for permission to......

Since their 2005 contract takes inflation into account when are up for their annual raise, this year's expected 3.25% pay hike for LA Department of Water and Power employees shot up to 5.9% because food and fuel costs have gone up this past year. One problem, that equals out to $16.4 million not written into the budget. Even without the raise, DWP workers are some of the higest paid employees in the city.......

Yes, lazily hosing down your sidewalk instead of using a broom is now illegal, thanks to a recent water conservation passed by the city last month. Since then the DWP has been sending out weekly tips and today was about the hosing. "As much as 150 gallons of water are used every time someone washes down a driveway, sidewalk, walkway or parking area, leading to gross amounts of wasted drinking water each time," wrote the......

David Markland of LA Metblogs posted this above video from a surveillance camera at the his apartment building in Hollywood. A man dressed up as a construction worker walks up to a bike, cuts the bolt of the lock and steals it shortly after 8:00 a.m. last week Tuesday. As Markland notes in his post, his local neighborhood council representative said this is occurring around town with DWP workers. In Sherman Oaks last week,......

Turn on that hose during the day and you may find you've been hosed--the LA City Council unanimously approved a change to the outdoor water usage ordinance yesterday that calls for one extra hour of banned watering time and double the fine. Between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. residents may not water their lawns; watering must take place before or after and can only run 15 minutes. Also, it is illegal to hose down your......

The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Department of Water & Power is under the microscope after City Council members are angry over a lack of transparency with multi-million dollar contracts with companies he worked with. DWP claims an "ethical wall" was put around him in order to make sure the contracts were not influenced or otherwise tainted by Raman Raj. But elected officials were not too happy when the LA Times was informing them......

The city's Energy and the Environment Committee met this morning and passed a water waste crackdown plan, making way for a full city council approval, which will likely occur in September. "The 'drought busters' plan crafted by the Department of Water and Power seeks to punish residents who water their lawns between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., car owners who wash their cars without 'shut-off devices' on their hoses and restaurants that serve water without......

Left to right: LADOT Staff Michael May, CD-4 Larry Hoffman, Mayoral appointee Glenn Bailey at a LABAC meeting | Photo courtesy by Alex Thompson Shocked by the horrific road raging motorist vs. cyclists incident on Mandeville Canyon Road this past holiday weekend, the cycling community has rallied in the last four days to fight for justice and to ensure that Los Angeles city leadership, law enforcement and the judicial system respond to incidents such......

For six weeks, ex-LA City Beat writer Alan Mittelstaedt has been trying to get a hold of DWP's CEO and General Manager's personal water bills, something that must be released by law within 10 days of request. The reporter was ready to bring the DWP to court, but before that, the Daily News printed a story about Nahai's bills but left out the backstory on why Nahai was all of the sudden releasing this info.......

Ex-LA City Beat writer Alan Mittelstaedt (known as the LA Sniper) might sue the LA Dept. of Water & Power General Manager and CEO David Nahai over a California Public Records Request violation -- Nahai won't give up his personal water bills for his 6,012-square foot Benedict Canyon mansion. Mittelstaedt thinks the bills will show Nahai's lifestyle is opposite the one his department preaches: sustainability and green. "We’re in ongoing discussions with DWP’s attorneys and......

What the LA Department of Water & Power is saying today during the heatwave: "Yesterday's energy peak reached 5856 megawatts, and was the second highest load in June. Today's peak demand is expected to reach or exceed the record of 6165 megawatts, set on July 24, 2006. While the LADWP has enough power to meet the city's needs, extraordinary demand during prolonged hot temperatures puts a tremendous strain on the city's electrical distribution equipment. Customers......

With temperatures soaring past 100 degrees in the Valley and with other parts of Los Angeles feeling sticky, it's no surprise that energy use spiked yesterday. "The energy peak topped out at 5509 megawatts, making it the second highest June load on record," stated an LA Department of Water & Power press release from today that "urges" residents to conserve energy. "The record load for June is 5531 megawatts, set on June 28, 2006. The......

One week after Gov. Schwarzenegger declared a statewide water drought, the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California has issued a water supply alert to the 18 million people in the six counties it serves, which includes Los Angeles County. The alert is the second of three steps to impose water rationing. “A ‘water supply alert’ does not mean less water being supplied; it means that the water being supplied is severely depleting reserves, and......

The DWP has much to be proud of, not the least of which is the prestigious EcoMoron Award it picked up last year in recognition of its commitment to an auto-centric and bike-free Griffith Park Holiday Festival of Lights. Tonight, cyclists ride to the Griffith Park Ranger Station to join the Sierra Club, local Neighborhood Councils, Homeowner Associations, Community groups and Equestrians in asking the DWP to lift the ban on bikes and to instead......

Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power says that most households in Los Angeles use between 30-40 percent of water outdoors and in some neighborhoods located in zones with warmer temperatures or with homes on larger lots, households use as much as 70% of their water outdoors. And after a hot weekend, this weekend looks to be much cooler and wetter. "Now is the time for customers to cut......

"The energy demand we are seeing is unprecedented, and it's only May," said David Nahai, LADWP CEO & General Manager, in a statement today, which is the second one regarding the same issue in less than thirty days. "We urge our customers to start cutting back their energy use now and to be ready for continued hot temperatures as we enter the summer months... It's incumbent upon all L.A. residents and businesses to look at......

Notice that all of the San Fernando Valley is covered except Studio City and Toluca Lake. Other parts of the city that fall into the hot zone are on the Eastside and South LA | Map via Dept. of Water & Power This map shows summer average daily temperatures for the microclimates of the City of Los Angeles and was performed by the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at UCLA. The two temperature zones were......

Photo by Matt McGee via Flickr It's certainly not new news, but still worth a mention: Conserve water, people! This time the urging comes from the folks who work in water at the state level, and who hope to avert a "water crisis," reports abc7.com. We've endured some mighty high temperatures in the past week or so, and with the scorching some may be tempted to soak their lawns and gardens, which happens to be......

In a press release sent yesterday evening, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) stated that "peak energy demand reached a record-setting high last weekend and near-record on Monday, indicating the need for customers to reduce their electricity use." Megawatt usage over the weekend and on Monday broke records. Monday's demand was the second highest for a weekday in April while both Sunday and Saturday's power usage peaked at the highest ever for......

As reported earlier today, the LA City Council was set to vote and approve rate hikes for the Department of Water and Power over the next four years. Now that all is said and done, the council approved the increases. Rick Orlov of the Daily News blogged updates throughout the meeting with some great talking points: Trust & Transparency (link)Councilwoman Janice Hahn said part of the problem facing the DWP is the lack of public......

Today, the city council is doing their second round of approval for the DWP rate hikes. And while politicians have spun it saying it will only go up a little by stating facts within certain contexts, the LA Times today did the math: "electricity bills will go up at least 23% over a four-year period, thanks to the Department of Water and Power's decision to ask ratepayers to absorb the higher cost of natural gas......

Photo of the DWP Parking lot by Omar Omar via Flickr This morning, the Los Angeles City Council gave a first round of approval for water and power rate hikes, saying infrastructure is needed to be updated. Over the next year and a half, monthly rates are expected to increase to around $7.25 (plus tax). Both General Manager for the Department of Water and Power David Nahai and Councilman Bill Rosendahl pointed towards last......

Photo of the DWP Parking lot by Omar Omar via Flickr Raise your hand if the moment you heard about the death of firefighter Brent A. Lovrien being caused by old 1930s technology, that the DWP would use that as a way to help their cause of raising water and power rates? "While we believe this to be a freak occurrence, it is a symptom of a much greater problem that we must address,"......

Photo of Tom LaBonge by Greg Katz for LAist If you missed Tom LaBonge talking with Patt Morrison on KPCC Tuesday, you missed hearing the charismatic council member for Silver Lake, Miracle Mile, and North Hollywood say that he sleeps with his lights on. The subject of their chat was the latest DWP rate hike. When asked whether he thought the DWP should use a carrot-and-stick strategy to compel energy conservation, LaBonge went off......

It's a bear market for the city's budget | Photo by BigMcGuire via Flickr The city is entering on of the worst budget woes it has ever faced. And while it's been talked about for sometime now, the effects are now becoming more apparent. Yesterday in a long city council meeting over most things money, the most controversial subject of water and power rate hikes ended with the increases on hold for further discussion,......

Photo of the Vincent Thomas Bridge by Jonathan Alcom (Sundogg) via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr We've been covering the city's police force a lot lately -- and before you think those officers just sit around eating donuts all day, you should definitely check out the LA Times guide to the Best Eats on the Beats. (Think Mexican food.) In more fun food news, EaterLA gives us the breakdown of Los Angeles......