Councilmen Criticize DWP Amid Customer Service Complaints
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A spokesperson for the L.A. Department of Water and Power says the agency is still working the kinks out of a new customer information system that's led to large billing fluctuations.
Councilman Paul Krekorian said Wednesday that officials did a poor job of letting customers know of the changes.
"That was not done at all. I didn't know that there was going to be estimated billing, and I'm a council member," he told KNX1070's Claudia Peschiutta.
DWP Customer Service Complaints
Councilman Paul Koretz complained that constituents have also been calling him to complain about DWP wait times.
"Centuries go by, mountains wear down, ice ages come and go and they're still on hold," he said.
KCAL9's Dave Bryan reports the City Council Energy and Environment Committee called in DWP officials Wednesday to answer questions posed from concerned customers in the Valley Village area, some of whom say they are receiving uncharacteristically high bills based on estimated energy use instead of meter readings.
"My bill was $999.99 for two months. I could not believe it," one resident said.
The DWP's head of operations, Campbell Hawkins, said in an earlier statement that switching systems is a huge undertaking and that the department is working to fix the problems.
"We're taking decisive actions to address the issues and get the system stabilized," he said.
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