By Carol Tucker

With extreme dry conditions facing the L.A. region and the state of California, LADWP has joined with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Metropolitan) in calling for our customers to redouble their water-saving efforts. On August 17th, Metropolitan’s Board of Directors declared a Water Supply Alert, elevating the regional water supply condition to the second most severe status level.

The Metropolitan Board of Directors’ action elevated the regional water supply status from a “Condition 1 – Water Supply Watch” to a more severe “Condition 2 – Water Supply Alert.” Los Angeles County remains one of the state’s eight counties not under a regional drought state of emergency and no new water restrictions were invoked. But the elevated status reflects the urgency of the water supply situation and encourages increased conservation.

LADWP supports Metropolitan’s elevated Water Supply Alert and echoes the call for increased conservation. “In the City of Los Angeles, we haven’t taken our foot off the conservation pedal. We’ve kept in place our aggressive watering restrictions, and continued to fund a slew of water-saving measures and programs that help our customers conserve water – even during wetter years,” said Martin L. Adams, LADWP General Manager and Chief Engineer. “Now, with extremely dry conditions, we’re urging all of our customers to redouble their efforts. We’re here to support them in saving even more water.”

In July, Governor Gavin Newsom called for a voluntary water use reduction across the state by 15 percent. The Governor’s call comes at a time when some regions in California, particularly Northern California, have been hard-hit by yet another dry year—the second consecutive year of low precipitation, snowpack and runoff.

The elevated Water Supply Alert calls for Metropolitan’s member agencies, of which LADWP is one of the founding members, to increase voluntary regional conservation, review their drought ordinances and water shortage contingency plans, and limit use of storage reserves where possible.

Since 2009, LADWP has continued with Phase 2 of the City of L.A.’s Emergency Water Conservation Plan, which limits watering to three days per week. Phase 2 requirements include many other permanent water-saving measures. LADWP will continue to monitor supply conditions and adjust our planning efforts to as needed.

LADWP has stepped up our conservation and outreach efforts, bringing back “Drop” to help get the word out to customers to save even more water. LADWP offers a variety of rebate and incentive programs for residential and commercial customers to help customers save water and reduce their utility bills. For example, residential customers can receive $3 per square foot for replacing turf with sustainable landscaping and $400 toward a high-efficiency clothes washer. For large commercial customers, LADWP offers an incentive of up to $2 million for innovative water-saving projects through the Technical Assistance Program.

Along with conservation, LADWP continues working to secure our local water supply through expanding recycled water use, improving the amount of water captured from stormwater runoff, and cleaning up the San Fernando groundwater basin.

As part of the ongoing initiatives to advance diversity and equity, Monique Earl, a long-time City of Los Angeles executive, has been named to lead the newly created Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) at LADWP.

Earl will become part of the senior management team reporting to General Manager Martin Adams, and will be responsible for the oversight of policies, practices and programs designed to improve diversity and opportunities throughout LADWP and position the agency to better serve communities with the highest needs.

As a Senior Assistant General Manager, Earl will also work to provide leadership, guidance and support in the internal and external development and implementation of the department’s Racial Equity Action Plan. Earl’s career with the City of Los Angeles spans 20 years across the legislative, executive and administrative branches of government.

During her roles with the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Earl led diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in recruitment, hiring and supplier diversity. She served as Chief Deputy Controller for City Controller Ron Galperin and Deputy Mayor of Budget and Financial Policy in the administration of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

She also has a long record of managing DEI efforts with a focus on workforce development, contracting, economic developmentand community engagement. LADWP Board President Cynthia McClain-Hill, a key architect behind the department’s racial equity action initiatives, said she was looking forward to working with Earl on the meaningful new initiatives at LADWP.

“Equity is about making sure everyone, especially people from historically disadvantaged backgrounds, have the opportunity to be successful at LADWP. Monique Earl will be a welcome addition as LADWP’s first Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer during this critical time,” she said.

General Manager and Chief Engineer Martin Adams said he wants to ensure diversity, equity and inclusion are not only valued, but reflected in every aspect of the Department’s operations moving forward. “I am thrilled to have Monique join our leadership team. The energy, enthusiasm, and experience she brings will help LADWP move forward in all areas of DEI, both with our internal staff as well as how we serve communities across Los Angeles. Monique will play a key role in helping us make LADWP the best public agency it can be.”

“It is an honor and huge responsibility to join LADWP in this pivotal role. I look forward to building upon the DEI foundation the Department is laying and establishing a culture where everyone feels seen, heard and valued,” Ms. Earl said.

Breonia Lindsey, Director of LADWP’s Water Distribution Division, was featured in the Los Angeles Sentinel as one of LADWP’s highest-ranking African American employees.

The Sentinel story, published June 10, 2021, describes how Lindsey worked his way up, starting in the trenches, digging holes to lay the pipes that make up L.A.’s water distribution system. In the early years of his career, Lindsey helped construct and maintain sections of the city’s more than 7,300 miles of pipeline.

Read full article

LADWP extends its condolences to the families and friends of current and former employees who have recently passed.  Visit the Water and Power Retired Employees’ Retirement Plan website to view and download the latest monthly notices of retirees and active employees who have passed away.

As of April 2021

*Late Notice

 As of May 2021

*Late Notice

LADWP extends its condolences to the families and friends of current and former employees who have recently passed.  Visit the Water and Power Retired Employees’ Retirement Plan website to view and download the latest monthly notices of retirees and active employees who have passed away.

As of February 2021

*Late Notice

As of March 2021

LADWP extends its condolences to the families and friends of current and former employees who have recently passed.  Visit the Water and Power Retired Employees’ Retirement Plan website to view and download the latest monthly notices of retirees and active employees who have passed away.

As of December 2020

*Late Notice

As of January 2021

During the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, the Van Norman Dam (right) came close to breaching while the Sylmar Converter Station (left) was severely damaged. (Photos from the LADWP photo archives)

By Dawn Cotterell

On February 9, 1971 at 6 a.m., a magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the San Fernando Valley, causing major damage throughout the city of Los Angeles and surrounding areas. Hundreds of schools and thousands of homes were destroyed and overpasses collapsed. Approximately 64 people lost their lives.

LADWP saw devastating impacts on the water and power systems. The Van Norman Dam came close to breaching, forcing about 80,000 residents to be evacuated. Sylmar Converter Station, which had been completed only a year prior, was severely damaged. The water distribution pipeline network su­ffered more than 1,000 leaks.

On February 9, 2021 LADWP commemorated the 50th anniversary of the earthquake by joining in the UCLA Lifelines webinar, where more than 600 industry experts, academia and others participated. Steve Cole, Manager of Water Engineering and Technical Services (WETS), presented at the event, covering what happened 50 years ago, infrastructure improvements made since and how we are now more prepared.

“Earthquakes have been one of the most significant learning lessons in the field of engineering. Certainly, being in earthquake country it has driven our design and inspired changes in what we do,” said General Manager and Chief Engineer Martin Adams. “We have had significant changes in the design criteria, particularly regarding dam construction and building construction for the critical water facilities.”

LADWP is a leader in the country for our work installing earthquake resistant pipe that was developed in Japan. We’ve also focused on improving our power system infrastructure by upgrading facilities, replacing wood poles with fiber glass and steel poles, upgrading circuits and more.

The webinar also featured a video produced by the Department’s Communications and Public A­ffairs team, which brought to life visuals demonstrating the damage caused from the 1971 earthquake and included interviews with Adams, retired LADWP employee Craig Davis and UCLA expert and professor Ertugrul Taciroglu.

Watch the video

Earthquakes are a reality of life for us in Southern California. LADWP is constantly striving to increase the reliability of our water infrastructure, from intake to tap, and working to guard our power system against disasters. The safety of our sta­ff, our customers and the community at large is, and will remain, the backbone of our daily operations.

By Carol Tucker

“It’s good for customers and it’s good for the environment” – that’s the elevator pitch for joining the Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM). It’s a persuasive argument that resonated with LADWP’s power system.

On April 1^st, LADWP became the largest vertically integrated, publicly-owned utility to join the Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM). Operated by the California Independent System Operator (ISO), the EIM is an automated voluntary energy market system that balances supply and demand for electricity every five minutes, using the least-cost energy resources to meet the needs of the statewide electric grid.

“We viewed it as a way to support other power utilities in the Western region while maintaining our autonomy as a vertically integrated utility,” said Reiko Kerr, Senior Assistant General Manager of Power Engineering, Planning and Technical Services. Power System staff investigated the costs and opportunities with joining EIM, and determined it would be feasible as well as beneficial to become fully integrated with other utilities in the West.

“I can’t emphasize enough the significance of this effort, which was extremely complex and involved over 300 staff members and eight different divisions in the Power System,” said Kerr. “This was a model collaboration across the Department. This team trained together, worked together, identified issues and worked through the challenges. In my mind this was a phenomenal success.”

The transition to the Western EIM marked a seismic shift in long-standing bulk power operations and protocols that will benefit customers in Los Angeles and throughout California as well as other western states. Since the transactions occur in real-time when prices are cheaper, the computer-driven market will save millions every year. An analysis conducted by LADWP showed that participating in the EIM offers a potential net benefit of about $12 million per year. Since its inception in 2014, EIM participants have realized a total of $1.2 billion in benefits.

Among other benefits, participating in the Western EIM will help both LADWP and the State of California maintain power reliability and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while optimizing the use of variable renewable energy, such as solar and wind power. This will help prevent the need for curtailment due to over-generation of solar in the state. It will improve reliability throughout the state during a heat wave, when power demand spikes, or during a critical event such as a wildfire. The automated market will find power that is available at the best price among the EIM participants.

ISO officials said LADWP’s participation in the EIM will provide operational and resource efficiencies for customers. The integration of LADWP also brought the benefits of accurately modeling new pump-storage operational constraints, and more sophisticated high-voltage DC line optimization and operational modeling in the real-time market, said Khaled Abdul-Rahman, Vice President of Power Systems and Market Technology. “The ISO appreciates the commitment of LADWP’s staff to successfully join the real-time energy market.”

Over four years in development, the transition was made with all hands-on deck working tirelessly through the night and early morning hours ready to step in and resolve issue at a moment notice, said Project Manager Jaime Pinedo.

From left: Paul Schultz, Kai Leung Choi, Jaime Pinedo, Erick Gallegos and Patrick James Cruz Borricano were part of a team of over 300 staff members that collaborated to transition the Department to the EIM. (Photo by Chris Corsmeier). Not pictured is Michelle Tovar-Mora, who served as workstream lead.

“The most satisfying part of this effort was watching all the different groups and divisions across LADWP come together and work as one unit. We worked vertically, from the person installing the meter to the director authorizing resources, and horizontally, from one side of the house to the other,” Pinedo said. “We were able to improve our system, whether it was metering, software systems or processes, and leave it in a better state.”

Within the Power System, the project brought together staff from seven separate groups: Power Construction and Maintenance; Power External Energy Resources; Power Planning, Development, and Engineering; Power Supply Operations; Power New Business Development and Technology Applications; Energy Control and Grid Reliability; and Power Regulatory Compliance and Specifications.

Other divisions that supported the effort were the City Attorney’s Office, Environmental Services, Financial Services, Governmental Affairs, Information Technology (IT), and Supply Chain.

Pinedo, who was the only staff member besides Kerr to be involved in the project from start to finish, said the team encountered roadblocks at nearly every corner as it maneuvered through planning, metering, procurement, legal matters, financial settlements, system integration and change management. Both ISO and the LADWP project teams dealt with significant integration and modeling challenges to enable the systems to talk to each other. Coordination, inspections and testing involved over 850 metering devices at LADWP generating units. Some required reprogramming or even the installation of new meters.

The EIM project team had the herculean task of procuring or modifying seven separate software systems and integrating them with 14 different software applications used by the EIM participating utilities. The software enables LADWP’s power generators, transmission systems and bulk meters to interface with power system components in California and other participating western states, including Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

LADWP’s Energy Control Center has been adjusting to the new work process. They’ve had to get used to “taking their hands off the wheel,” so to speak.  In the past, the ECC scheduled the bulk power purchases a day in advance, basing the expected load on prior years’ weather and demand trends, and adjusted the plan as needed throughout the day. Instead of one day at a time, now they are scheduling the power ever five minutes. Or rather, they monitor while computers do the work. It’s a brave new world.

Featured photo: Overlooking LADWP’s Energy Control Center (Photo by Art Mochizuki).

By Paola Adler

LADWP’s first-ever Women’s Empowerment Panel highlighted the successful careers of six inspiring female employees from different job classifications working in the field and the office. Their stories showcased how LADWP has helped support the 2,470 women working at the Department, as well as the challenges that women in the workplace face as they balance work and life responsibilities.

[Watch a video recording of the panel]

About 270 employees heard from six panelists about their unique career paths and more during the Women’s Empowerment Panel. Top row, from left: Winifred Yancy, Connie DeGuzman and Diane Rojo. Middle row, from left: Alicia Dickerson, Erika Jaramillo, Flordeliza Gonzalez and LaTanya Bogin. Bottom row, from left: Cynthia McClain-Hill, Martin L. Adams and Brian D’Arcy. (Image by Jason Cleanthes)

Women empowering each other—serving as role models and mentors—has been one of the biggest benefits LADWP’s efforts to raise awareness of women’s issues and foster a more supportive culture. “I admire the women who work at LADWP because we help each other. We do study groups, mentorships, promote leadership. When I was taking exams, people would help me with mock interviews. They would push me to do better,” says Principal Clerk Utility Connie DeGuzman, who participated in the virtual panel on March 17, 2021 to celebrate Women’s History Month.

About 270 employees joined in the WebEx event, hosted by LADWP and IBEW Local 18. Along with DeGuzman, panelists included Utility Executive Secretary and Retirement Board President La Tanya Bogin, Maintenance & Construction Helper Alicia Dickerson, Supervising Water Service Representative Flordeliza Gonzalez, Commercial Service Supervisor Erika Jaramillo and Senior Gardener Diane Rojo. The panel was moderated by Director of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs and Interim Racial Equity Officer Winifred Yancy, and also featured remarks from Board President Cynthia McClain-Hill, General Manager and Chief Engineer Martin L. Adams and IBEW Local 18 Business Manager Brian D’Arcy.

During the panel, the speakers shared how they navigated challenges and harnessed their skills and talent to accomplish their goals. The panelists shared their unique career paths, contributions and advice for other employees. All of the panelists expressed happiness as an LADWP employee. Jaramillo noted, “My career here at LADWP has been amazing. I ended up at LADWP by coincidence, and I’m very thankful for that opportunity. I expected to be here six months to a year and 25 years later, here I am. So, I’m very fortunate.”

Beyond their own hard work, several of the panelists mentioned ways LADWP directly supported their career journeys through programs, policies and work culture. Commenting on the benefits of  LADWP’s informal culture of mentorship, DeGuzman said, “I want to say thank you to all the women who have paved the way for me and for all of us who work here, in a company that is predominantly male.” More formal organizations, like LADWP’s Society for Women Engineers, also offer networking and mentoring opportunities to its members.

Both DeGuzman and Jaramillo were thankful for LADWP’s generous tuition reimbursement program, which helped them further their education and advance in their careers while also providing for and taking care of family members. “I was able to obtain my degree in Business Management, although it took me some time to get there because I was taking care of my daughters. Once I finished school, I applied for every position or project that I could,” said Jaramillo. “There is no other place that would give 100 percent tuition reimbursement, and it’s one of the best benefits I received from the Department,” said DeGuzman.

The panelists were also motivated to succeed by supervisors and women in leadership positions at LADWP. Women have increasingly been elevated to leadership and upper management roles at the Department in recent years, with women occupying over half of those positions. Three of the Department’s seven executive team members are women: Senior Assistant General Manager – Power System Engineering and Technical Services Reiko Kerr, Chief Financial Officer Ann Santilli and Senior Assistant General Manager of External and Regulatory Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer Nancy Sutley. And for the first time in LADWP’s history, all commissioners serving on the LADWP Board of Water and Power Commissioners are women. Bogin commented, “To have an all-female Board, that is a huge accomplishment.” Dickerson added, “I’ve been inspired by women who have started at the bottom and risen up.”

LADWP’s all-female Board of Commissioners has inspired many women employees.

Event partner IBEW Local 18, which represents most LADWP employees, supports many leadership and training programs to empower women at LADWP, including the Joint Labor Management Task Force. Assistant Business Managers Lilly Calvache and Shawn McCloud, who helped coordinate this event, both advocate for and mentor all female employees at the Department. “As women, we have to support each other so we can become tomorrow’s leaders,” said Calvache. “Mentoring is so important because it helps us pass on the baton. I was mentored by a female supervisor, and I looked up to her and learned so much from her. Now I work to pass information and expertise on to others.”

Though women have made strides within many fields at the Department, work continues to create more equity in jobs considered non-traditional for women, such as skilled-craft positions. Just over 1.5 percent of LADWP employees in these types of jobs are women. LADWP has partnered with IBEW Local 18 to address this issue through the Utility Pre-Craft Training (UPCT) program, which allows interested workers to receive skilled craft training, counseling and job experience that can lead to stable, good-paying careers in the utility industry, with a particular focus on women and minorities.

Two of the panelists, Dickerson and Rojo, are graduates of the UPCT program. Rojo had switched careers later in life, and the UPCT program provided the resources to work at LADWP. “Without this program, I would not be here where I am now,” she said. “I started off as an apprentice with no experience. I really appreciated the UPCT program because it helped me learn how not to be complacent, and how to apply myself,” said Dickerson.

A frequent challenge that the panelists mentioned was balancing life and career as working mothers and caretakers. “As a woman, a wife and a mother, your job does not end at work,” said Gonzalez. These “second jobs” meant that some of the panelists had to put off career development or advancement until their children grew up or caretaking needs lessened. Gonzalez continued, “Promotion was not an option for me – I waited until my children were in high school before I promoted.” “I put off tuition reimbursement for so long because I had my daughters. I was raising my kids – being at home and taking them to events so that I wouldn’t have to rely on other people to take care of them. I put off my education to do that,” said Jaramillo.

Some participants also shared that, as female employees, they felt pressure to prove their worth to their male Department colleagues to earn respect, especially in work environments that were traditionally dominated by men. Moderator Yancy remembered, “As a Student Design Engineer, I climbed towers, not because I actually wanted to but because the guys in my group did and I had to gain their respect. They never asked me to, but in our minds, we think we need to do that to ‘gain respect.’”

Following the discussion, McClain-Hill and Adams asked the attendees what LADWP could do to better support women in the workplace. Over 30 attendees submitted their ideas anonymously. Responses focused mostly on three areas: career development, workplace conditions and work-life balance.

To work to address these concerns, McClain-Hill and Bogin have partnered to create an LADWP Women’s Council, which will debut in summer 2021. The Council will be comprised of LADWP female rank and file employees, along with IBEW Local 18’s McCloud and Calvache, who are interested in creating and championing programs and initiatives that support the professional growth and leadership development of women at LADWP, as well as provide work-life balance and supportive workplace conditions.

“We accept as given that we have to struggle and balance these issues on our own and just make everything work,” said McClain Hill. “As we continue to look at how we increase the gender diversity at this Department, it seems to me a missing element is to really look at workplace practices that could be adjusted in ways that would just make it easier for women to work here.”

McClain Hill added that women bear the brunt and the responsibility for everything: childcare, doctor’s appointments, school visits, all of it. “Unless workplaces begin to recognize that impact, it is going to be a limitation on what we can achieve,” she said.

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By Carol Tucker

Following the conclusion of the groundbreaking Los Angeles 100% Renewable Energy Study (LA100), the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) will move forward with critical next steps toward transforming the city’s power supply to 100% carbon-free by 2035, and the interim milestones of 80% renewable energy and 97% carbon-free by 2030.

In a presentation to the Board of Water and Power Commissioners, LADWP officials laid out the necessary actions that must begin as soon as possible, especially because major projects that involve upgrading transmission lines and generation systems can take years, if not a decade or more. “The LA100 Study found several viable pathways toward developing a 100% renewable energy supply but stopped short of making a recommendation,” said Jason Rondou, Director of Clean Grid LA Strategies at LADWP. “What we’re presenting today are the critical actions that are necessary to make progress toward that 100% goal – whichever pathway is ultimately selected.”

The LA100 study, led by the U.S. Department of Defense National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed four scenarios with the same end goal – 100% renewable energy – although they differed in what energy resources would qualify as renewable or clean energy technology and the quantities and timing of those investments. Each scenario was evaluated under three different projections of energy demand. But all LA100 scenarios point to actions that LADWP can take now to stay on track to achieve a 100% renewable or 100% carbon-free energy supply. These include:

• Increase distributed energy resources equitably: All LA100 scenarios show that customers will play a bigger role in L.A.’s clean energy future through implementing energy efficiency, electrifying buildings and driving electric vehicles, installing solar on their homes and businesses, and enrolling in flexible demand management programs such as demand response.
• Increase renewable energy: LADWP will need to rapidly secure or develop an estimated 3,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy and energy storage as well as smaller, locally distributed, solar generation coupled with batteries.
• Accelerate new transmission: LADWP has identified the need to complete 10 critical transmission projects over the next 10 years to ensure grid reliability and to bring renewable energy to where it is needed within the city.
• Transform local generation: All LA100 scenarios point to the need for some type of renewably fueled combustion generation, which can provide power to the city at any time. While this type of power generation would be used infrequently, it is considered essential to keeping the lights on during the most extreme situations, such as a wildfire causing the loss of transmission.
• Expand energy storage: LADWP will need to build over 1,000 MW of short-duration energy storage by 2030 to support the electrical capacity needs within Los Angeles.

LADWP officials stressed the need to expand distributed energy programs in underserved, or disadvantaged communities. Toward this end, the Board of Water and Power Commissioners approved a new study, LA100 Equity Strategies, designed to incorporate NREL’s research and analysis to achieve specific, community-driven and equitable outcomes from the clean energy transition.

Launching July 1, LA100 Equities Strategies recognizes the need for “legitimate and substantive engagement with our communities and stakeholders if we are to lead the state and nation on decarbonization and create a model that other utilities can replicate. Put simply, a just transition is equally important as a 100% renewables transition,” said LADWP Board President Cynthia McClain-Hill.

“LA100 Equity Strategies is a critical next step on the path to 100% renewables, with the goal of lifting up all Angelenos so that everyone will share in the benefits of clean energy.”
-Cynthia McClain-Hill

“These communities have the greatest need for managing their energy to reduce their costs. They are also among the hardest customers to reach,” Rondou said. “Going forward, our goal is to achieve at least 50% participation from disadvantaged communities in our energy efficiency, customer solar, demand response and other distributed generation programs.”

This summer, LADWP will begin the next Strategic Long-Term Resource Plan (SLTRP). The SLTRP will incorporate the findings of the LA100 study when evaluating alternative strategies in line with LADWP’s regulatory requirements and environmental policy goals, while maintaining power reliability and minimizing the financial impact on LADWP’s customers. The planning process will also include
a community advisory group, similar to the LA100 Advisory Group, to ensure plans reflect the input of the communities and customers we serve.

Other next steps include launching the environmental review process for the 10 new transmission projects within the Los Angeles Basin, identified through studies as critically necessary to support the increase of renewable energy, and ensure reliability as local in-basin natural gas plants are phased out. To begin transforming local generation, LADWP plans to issue a request for information (RFI) to explore options for green hydrogen power technologies and best practices.

“We view green hydrogen pathways within the L.A. Basin as critical to further our clean energy goals,” Rondou said.

Ensuring Available Water Supply for Next 25 Years

By Sylvia Beltran

Once every five years, LADWP submits a plan to the State of California Department of Water Resources (DWR) that details how they will ensure adequate water supplies are available to meet the existing and future needs of the City of Los Angeles.  The requirement to develop an Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) applies to all urban water suppliers that either supply over 3,000 acre-feet of water annually or serve more than 3,000 customers.

DWR requires urban water suppliers assess the reliability of their existing and planned water sources, describe the demand management measures and conservation efforts to reduce water demand, describe activities to develop alternative sources of water, assess reliability and vulnerability of available water supplies, submit a water shortage contingency plan, and report on climate change impacts and energy intensity for the next 25 years. To assist with this projection, LADWP utilizes population forecast determined by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). SCAG is the nation’s largest metropolitan planning organization and represents six counties and 191 cities and more than 19 million residents.

LADWP’s Water Resources Development Group began laying out the 2020 Urban Water Management Plan in 2019. They didn’t start from scratch, but needed to update the 2015 UWMP. The UWMP was the first program to go through the recently convened Water System’s Stakeholder Engagement Group (SEG), which is comprised of over 100 stakeholders and subject matter experts to support and participate in the development of various water initiatives with the goal of promoting reliable and high-quality drinking water for the City of Los Angeles. The group members represent LA and include non-profit organizations, agencies, neighborhood councils, universities, and other water policy expertise across Los Angeles.

This UWMP cycle was the first time the UWMP required a Water Shortage Contingency Plan, which details the prioritized actions LADWP would take when water shortage conditions occur as the result of drought, earthquakes, fires or other catastrophic events.

Information shared and discussed with the SEG occurred over five meetings in 2020. The discussions and feedback were proven invaluable and documented in a summary from each meeting and posted on the ladwp.com/seg website for transparency and easy access. The first SEG meeting was held in person with subsequent meetings held virtually. Once all studies were completed and the findings were shared with the SEG, general information meetings were held in early 2021 followed by the required public hearings in March.

Led by Sabrina Tsui, Manager of Resources Development, the team involved in the development of the 2020 UWMP include Benjamin Wong, Supervisor of Water Resources Strategic Planning, Ahmed Jaber, Civil Engineering Associate, Arin Nayirian, Civil Engineering Associate, and Sara Mouakkad, Civil Engineering Associate.

The UWMP goes before the LADWP Board of Commissioners in May for approval and will be submitted to the State of California Department of Water Resources by July 1, 2021.

Learn More

By Carol Tucker

On Thursday, April 1^st, LADWP wrapped up the final meeting of the Los Angeles 100 Percent Renewable Energy Study (LA100) Advisory Group, concluding a multi-year process to identify viable pathways and potential investments that would be needed to provide 100 percent renewable energy while ensuring reliable power to our customers.

The study, led a team of renewable energy experts at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), affirms that LADWP can achieve the City of Los Angeles’ aggressive goal – to be fully powered by 100 percent renewable energy – by 2045, and even by 2035 in the fastest scenario. At the same time, the study shows LADWP can reach 100 percent renewables while remaining true to the core principles of reliability, environmental stewardship, environmental justice, resiliency, and affordability.

“Our power system team worked hand-in-hand with NREL and the Advisory Group for nearly four years. LADWP now has the tools and roadmap to take the next steps to keep us on track to reach 100 percent renewables,” said General Manager and Chief Engineer Marty Adams. Adams praised staff for their commitment and dedication to the LA100 process, which kicked off in June 2017.

“This has been a model for how the Department can work collaboratively and effectively across many divisions, including Power System Clean Grid LA and Integrated Resource Planning divisions, finance, environmental services, governmental affairs, communications and public affairs, and many other groups whose involvement was critical to the project’s success,” Adams said.

Eric Montag, Senior Manager-Distribution and Engineering Support, was tapped to head up the LA100 study and Advisory Group process. Montag described LA100 as a very gratifying assignment and a career game-changer. “There was great satisfaction watching the growth of our staff as they worked on this complex study,” he said. “I’m very proud of all the LADWP staff that have been involved. In some ways, watching their professional growth is more gratifying than the study itself.”

Working under Montag and subsequently Jason Rondou, Director of LADWP’s Clean Grid LA Strategy Division, Ashkan Nassiri played a key part in coordinating with NREL, and worked closely with Communications and Public Affairs to coordinate meetings of the LA100 Advisory Group.

“I took on the role of project manager and contract administrator in early days,” recalled Nassiri, an Electrical Engineer. He started with only one staff member, Anton Sy, who later promoted to Mechanical Engineer in Power Regulatory Compliance and Specifications. “With Anton’s help, we ran the newly established project, defined the scope of contract with the input from many staff in the Power System, brought NREL on board to lead the study, and established the quarterly Advisory Group meetings, among many other responsibilities.”

“My great hope is that LA100 set the precedent for other utilities and different sectors in economy worldwide to evaluate how transitioning their respective sector to clean energy could help create a better and cleaner future for our planet,” Nassiri said. “I want to extend my sincere appreciation for the LA100 team: Scott Moon, Nicholas Matiasz, Steve Swift and previous members Anton Sy and Greg Sarvas. The LA100 success would have not been attainable without their support and dedication.”

He added that LA100 didn’t happen in silo. “One of the best parts of the study was the interaction with well over 50 LADWP subject matter experts from across the Department, along with working with the best and brightest researchers in the nation at NREL. I truly believe this experience was a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

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