Glasstrack sent along this story from yesterday’s LA Times:
DWP plan would give Valley a rate break
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has assembled a plan to charge many households in the San Fernando Valley lower rates for electricity during the summer compared with the rest of the city, on the grounds that those who live in a hotter climate deserve a break.
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For example, Valley households would begin paying a higher rate for power once they have exceeded 1,000 kilowatt-hours on their bimonthly bills.
By comparison, households in the remainder of the city would begin paying a higher rate once they passed 700 kilowatt-hours on their bimonthly bills.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has backed the rate-restructuring plan, saying he sees no contradiction between the effort to encourage conservation and the extra consideration for the Valley.
“Their temperatures are so much more extreme, so you have to take that into account,” he said Monday. “It would be unfair otherwise.”
In other news, State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner held a joint press conference with representatives from AAA, Allstate, Geico, and State Farm insurance companies to announce that the major insurance companies would be adjusting their rate tables so that policies for Lamborghinis and Ferraris wouldn’t cost much more than a policy for a top-end Lexus.
“Their maintenance and other expenses are so much more extreme, so you have to take that into account,” he said Monday. “It would be unfair otherwise.”
In a separate press conference, State Controller John Chiang announced a plan to introduce a graduated tax collection system at the fuel pump. The high-tech solution would automatically reduce the state excise tax and sales tax by 50% after the 20th gallon has been pumped, and by 75% after the 30th. Primary beneficiaries of this plan would include drivers of the Ford Excursion.
“Their fuel consumption and average vehicle miles traveled are so much more extreme, so you have to take that into account,” he said Monday. “It would be unfair otherwise.”
