LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles is no stranger to hot weather. Angelenos need all the protection they can get as heat storms ramp up and push temperatures above 100 degrees well into September.
The motion approved June 27 by the Los Angeles board of water and power commissioners is critically important and will help save lives. The motion directs the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power or LADWP to suspend collections-related water and power shut offs for all customers during extreme heat and cold weather events. Under this new policy, when the National Weather Service or NWS issues an extreme heat or cold weather advisory or warning, LADWP will not shut a customer’s water or power off if they are delinquent on their bill.
The newly approved policy protects health and safety for all LADWP customers, particularly vulnerable residents such as senior citizens, infants, young children, persons with acute medical needs and low-income customers. The board’s action directs the department to adopt the issuance of local NWS alerts (e.g., Heat Advisory, Excessive Heat Watch, and Excessive Heat Warning during excessive heat events; and corresponding alerts for extreme cold/frost/freezing extreme weather events) to serve as the department’s official trigger to suspend customer utility shutoffs for bill non-payment.