Susan Shelley: LADWP is facing an investigation by the U.S. Senate

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is no stranger to federal investigations.

In July 2019, FBI agents raided LADWP headquarters along with the offices of the city attorney. By the time the investigation concluded in 2023, two top LADWP officials, former general manager David Wright and former chief information security officer David Alexander, had felony convictions on their records.

There were approximately 33 search warrants obtained by the federal government during the investigation, something like 1,400 pages of material, all sealed under a protective order until a lawsuit by Consumer Watchdog and the Los Angeles Times persuaded a judge to unseal them last year.

That was garden-variety corruption, a lot of people getting paid with the ratepayers’ money thanks to insider deals and manipulated legal settlements.

But now LADWP is facing an investigation by the U.S. Senate. The city-owned utility has until October 17 to produce records and correspondence for “a review of Los Angeles’s wildfire mitigation and suppression efforts, including the response to the Palisades fire.” L.A. is under the microscope of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Chairman Ron Johnson and committee member Rick Scott sent a letter on October 3 to LADWP CEO and Chief Engineer Janisse Quiñones and Richard Katz, president of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners. The letter cited questions raised by the utility’s own preliminary report in July, which identified “issues with critical water systems necessary for fire suppression, including loss of pressure to fire hydrants.” Also mentioned as a cause for concern: “allegations that the mismanagement of reservoirs led to a lack of water on the day that residents in Los Angeles County needed it most.”

The letter asked for “all records referring or relating to wildfire response between December 28, 2024, and the present” and “all communications to or from LADWP Regulatory Affairs Manager John Kemmerer.”

The senators also requested all records and communications “referring or relating to maintenance, inspection or repairs of infrastructure,” including “any decision to forgo any maintenance or repairs.” Also: all records and communications regarding “wildfire prevention, mitigation and response measures” including funding and budget requests, training, technology, staffing, water tenders, water sufficiency, fire hydrant systems, the Westgate Trunk Line along Sunset Boulevard, pumping stations, water shut-offs, reservoirs, repairs and “supplier diversity.”

In addition, “all records referring or relating to the maintenance of the power lines, including but not limited to whether it contributed to the spread of the Palisades fire.”

And finally, the Senate demanded “all communications referring to or relating to wildfire prevention, mitigation or suppression” between LADWP and “any employee or official” with the Los Angeles Mayor’s office, the City Council, the Office of the Governor, the Los Angeles City and County Fire Departments and any federal agency or department.

By October 17.

The Senate investigation takes place as attorneys gather information for private lawsuits. Will the City of Los Angeles be liable for the tens of billions of dollars in damage in the Palisades?

In a July press release, LADWP said it “continues to review and analyze system resiliency and potential enhancements to our systems to respond to climate-driven disasters.”

Funny how the climate only targets cities and states with incompetent governments.

For 25 years or more there has been a failure of state and local government in California to appropriately and safely manage vegetation to reduce fuel load ahead of the region’s inevitable and recurring wildfires. From extremist environmentalism that halted power pole replacement in Topanga Canyon to protect milkvetch plants, to statewide “smoke management” regulations that curtailed the controlled burns used to create firebreaks, idiotic policies have led to record-breaking, uncontrollable wildfires.

Even if you’re not directly a victim of these fires, you’re paying for California’s idiocy in your utility rates, insurance premiums and taxes.

The U.S. Senate’s scrutiny is much needed. There’s no meaningful investigation happening in California, where the culprits are in charge of the inquiries, and “climate change” is their get-out-of-jail-free card.

If California’s power grid goes down in the next week, it might be because too many shredders were plugged in at the same time. Let’s hope it’s not a fire hazard.

Write Susan@SusanShelley.com and follow her on X @Susan_Shelley