City Council on 2022-02-15 6:00 PM - VIRTUAL MEETING
Meeting Time: 02-15-22 18:00
eComments Report
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City Council on 2022-02-15 6:00 PM -
VIRTUAL MEETING
02-15-22
18:00
68 14 0 4 3
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City Council on 2022-02-15 6:00 PM - VIRTUAL MEETING
02-15-22 18:00
Agenda Name Comments Support Oppose Neutral
D.1. 22-3695 PRESENTATIONS BY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON (SCE), SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAS COMPANY (SCG), THE CLEAN
POWER ALLIANCE (CPA) AND THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES
COMMISSION (CPUC) REGARDING RECENT AND UPCOMING
UTILITY RATE INCREASES
11 0 4 1
H.18. 22-3747 APPROVE THE LEGAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH
THE LAW OFFICE OF TODD SIMONSON FOR LEGAL SERVICES AND
ADD THIS FIRM TO THE CITY ATTORNEY'S APPROVED LAW FIRM
LIST
1 0 0 0
N.1. 22-3636 DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE FY 2021-22 MIDYEAR BUDGET REPORT
RECEIVE AND FILE THE FY 2021-22 MIDYEAR BUDGET REPORT
AND THE PRESENTATION ON THE STATUS OF THE FY 2021-22
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
ADOPT BY 4/5 VOTE AND BY TITLE ONLY RESOLUTION NO. 2202- 010, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
REDONDO BEACH, CALIFORNIA, MODIFYING THE BUDGET FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2021-22
1 0 0 1
N.2. 22-3729 DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON CRIME AND
VEHICLE COLLISION STATISTICS AND TRENDS FOR CALENDAR
YEAR 2021
1 0 0 1
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Agenda Item: eComments for D.1. 22-3695 PRESENTATIONS BY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON (SCE), SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA GAS COMPANY (SCG), THE CLEAN POWER ALLIANCE (CPA) AND THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES
COMMISSION (CPUC) REGARDING RECENT AND UPCOMING UTILITY RATE INCREASES Overall Sentiment
Maricela Guillermo
Location:
Submitted At: 8:03pm 02-15-22
SCE, the CA Public Utility Commission, and CPA, are taking advantage of the uninformed customers who now have to foot these outrageous expensive bills. It is also pretty outrageous to change customers to TOU if customers do not opt out. It is time for these entities to do better for their customers. Need to investigate why some customers who were not home during certain days, their usage of electricity went up-the case for a family member. Would appreciate these entities respond in writing to the questions proposed by all the residents commenting, specifically the questions proposed by Mr. Mark Nelson below.
Lezlie Campeggi
Location:
Submitted At: 5:57pm 02-15-22
There is something extremely wrong with ratepayer invoices from SCE that needs FIXING, not finger pointing.
Let me preface this by stating I opted out of the CPA every year since it was enacted. SCE has always been, and is now, my ONLY service provider for electricity. I also opted OUT of the TOU plan where rates are increased between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. So, the ONLY increase in my invoices would be due to higher usage, higher rates, or both.
But hat hasn't been the case in recent months. My kilowatt usage reflected in my 10-09-2021 invoice and my 11- 08-2021 invoice were ALMOST IDENTICAL! No real disparity. However, my November invoice was 115% higher than my October invoice! How is that even possible? In seeing that huge increase, we made a greater than usual, concerted effort to scale back electricity usage as much as possible, but we did have a family member staying with us for about 5 days. Imagine my shock when my December 2021 bill showed a higher usage than our normal, but was actually 25% LESS than the November invoice, although still higher than previous years! No, nowhere was there a credit issued or any explanation for the reduction. But that only lasted for a month. My January 2022 invoice was back to the November level of being 115% higher than normal rates, with only slight increase in kilowatt usage.
Something is seriously, seriously wrong with SCE's fluctuating rates that don't match fluctuating usage. By the way, my usage for January 2022 was 2.6 kilowatts less than January 2021, while my invoice is approximately 45% higher than one year ago. And, SCE, please explain why my account number was changed 2 years ago! There was no reason for that. Obviously I didn't move and I made no changes to my name or billing address. Yet now, because of SCE changing my account number for no explained reason, SCE cannot provide me with any history of my account at my current address prior to the last 24 months. That seems intentional and gives me even MORE cause for concern.
SCE's excessive charges are egregious and particularly injurious in these days of much higher inflation. What you're doing is NOT okay!
Candace Nafissi
Location:
Submitted At: 2:14pm 02-15-22
I am a resident of District 3. I have reviewed the last 3 months of my SCE bill and all 3 have been up at least 50%. We are a family of 4 living in a 2500sq. home. We are on TOU rate currently and are extremely mindful of not running anything between the hours of 4-9pm when rates are higher. In addition, we have programed our cars to only charge between the hours of 9:05pm-Midnight. With all of the above mentioned considerations our usage has soared the most between midnight and 8am--WHEN WE ARE SLEEPING. There is no logical explanation for this increase so we contacted SCE who provided no explanation for the increase. To be perfectly clear, our family has done nothing different in the last 90 days. SCE is clearly milking the residents of Redondo Beach and hoping that no one notices. Well, we did notice the incessant price increase and so did the LA Times who wrote a story back in the fall about this. On that same note, we received a bill yesterday and our monthly bill dropped to $250--again we have not changed our lifestyle in anyway. Could this be because the press has began to pick up on the fact that SCE is price gauging residents? While my husband and I are dual income --we will figure it out how to pay for your increased bills. However, it is inexcusable what you are doing to seniors with a fixed income. I urge the Council to demand from SCE a reason of why this occurred. In addition, I urge the Council to ask SCE to educate our community on any income based programs residents can take part in so we can help our most vulnerable seniors and neighbors get some relief.
Mark Nelson
Location:
Submitted At: 2:07pm 02-15-22
Some specific questions that I would hope are answered are:
1) TOU Rates - for Redondo Beach residents, how many households face higher bills simply because of the change in rate structure to TOU that financially penalizes evening activities such as: a) family dinner preparation, b) use of electronics for recreation and school work, c) required lighting for activities and school work, d) timely washing/drying of athletic wear for the next day's school, etc? These key family hours should not face financial penalties.
2) Proposed utility solar surcharge - homes with solar PV were asked by the state and the million solar roofs initiative to spend their own money to decarbonize the grid. In return, they were provided net energy metering.
The utilities are now proposing a roughly $100 per month surcharge on solar PV users, a fee that will negate the investment that was made.
3) Negative impacts of TOU to solar PV households - TOU rates are lowest in the daytime when solar is active and net energy metering has largely been abandoned. From a financial perspective, solar is no longer cost effective for homeowners absent an additional $10K in storage, that may or may not survive the next set of rate changes.
4) Rate increases - we should be provided the marginal cost to customers from 2000 to current year adjusted for inflation in order to understand the large rate increases that have taken place. 5) Cost of capital - we have just come through a decade of very low interest rates, How has the utility cost of capital been reduced to benefit ratepayers during that time 6) Debt to equity ratio - how has the utility reduced its use of equity financing in the past decade to benefit taxpayers with the lower cost of debt?
If these questions are not answered, the representatives need to come back and try again.
Joseph Schwar
Location:
Submitted At: 1:22pm 02-15-22
We are residents at the apartment building at 512 Avenue G. We are concerned with anomalous spikes in electricity usage shown on our SCE electricity bills. Our bills report usage well above our historical usage at times when we have been using little electricity, including when we WERE NOT AT HOME. In short, it appears we are being billed for electricity we are not actually using. This is a separate issue from rates, but may be another way that excess payments are being made to SCE.
Barb Clark
Location:
Submitted At: 11:48am 02-15-22
The recent rate increases are about triple what our rates used to be, and now there might be more?? We should not be paying for the electric utilities negligence in creating the devastating fires. The state should have stepped in and taken all the bonuses, raises, and dividend payouts to cover the costs, NOT US! Now the gas company is punishing us for using natural gas, my bill used to be about $10 per month and now its $80 - $100 per month.
The boards, CEO's et al, and shareholders are getting rich off our struggles and suffering . These bills are outrageous. How can they justify these insane increases, and why is the state letting them? ? Amy Santa Cruz
Location:
Submitted At: 10:35am 02-15-22
Townhouse - SCE bill Jan. 2020 = $72.78. Same household, # of people, usage Jan. 2022 = $133.46.
Gas bill Feb.2020 = $57.68….. Feb. 2022 = $110.43. (Had extra family members living here during Covid so didn’t use 2021 info.)
How are fixed income folks supposed to deal with this increase? What about those who do not quite make the assistance requirements? Are families going to have to choose less comfort in their own homes in order to be able to afford utility bills?
Sandi Monda
Location:
Submitted At: 8:44am 02-15-22
Last Tuesday, we experienced a power outage in Torrance (south of Little Co. of Mary; north of Carson) at 5 a.m.
At 5:10 a.m., SCE was contacted about the outage. The person on the phone did not know there was an outage, took the information and said she would update me. At approximately 7 a.m., the electricity came back on.....for approx. 1-1/2 hours....off again for another hour. It was later stated that this was a planned outage, but I received no alert..either via text or email.
We have several elderly in our neighborhood and they rarely, if ever use a computer and have no idea how to sign up for ALERTS. They received NO notification of an outage and were very upset and stressed by this outage.
Upon contacting SCE, my neighbor was told that if there is going to be an outage in our neighborhood, there will be door hangers placed on our doors. My neighbors and I have NEVER received a door hanger.
In checking SCE's website, it states there are two outages planned for next week. Are we going to be receiving door hangers?
I believe SCE is doing a very poor job of notifying its' customers of any outages. And, I wonder why these outages can't be done when we are least likely to be using the power ----- like 2 or 3 in the morning? I haven't even commented on the outrageous gas and electric bills! Unacceptable and greedy! Muna Shikaki
Location:
Submitted At: 7:08am 02-15-22
When I saw my $648 electricity bill from last month I thought it was a mistake. Nope, that’s what it costs to heat your house up from an ambient temp of 60 to 68 in Redondo Beach. It’s outrageous. Our apt is all on one level and smaller than 1200 sq ft. We moved here from Washington, D.C. last summer, where it cost a max of $180/month to run the AC or heat, which we did, year round. Kind of crazy this is what it would cost in a temperate climate. Something is wrong.
Susan Leighton
Location:
Submitted At: 9:41pm 02-14-22
My SCE bill has always been approx $95/mo and nothing has changed at home but now my bills are close to $300/mo. An SCE employee came to change my meter because he said it wasn’t working and told me that my bill would probably be high and that SCE would credit my bill. I lodged a complaint and received a letter that the bill is correct and I need to pay it. If everyone is having the same issues, there is a problem with their billing! It’s a license to steal and we need to put a stop to it!
Donna Pattillo
Location:
Submitted At: 6:44pm 02-14-22
My electric and gas bills have tripled recently, even though I have been using less than in recent months. To a person on a fixed income this is absolutely devastating. It feels like this is simply greed, just trying to keep profits high. SCE and So Cal Gas should answer HONESTLY as to why we have had these increases.
Agenda Item: eComments for H.18. 22-3747 APPROVE THE LEGAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH THE LAW OFFICE OF TODD
SIMONSON FOR LEGAL SERVICES AND ADD THIS FIRM TO THE CITY ATTORNEY'S APPROVED LAW FIRM LIST Overall Sentiment
Lezlie Campeggi
Location:
Submitted At: 7:08pm 02-15-22
Please confirm if I'm reading this correctly about hiring an attorney who lives in the San Francisco area to conduct workplace investigations for the City of Redondo Beach. While his $370 per hour rate might be "market rate consistent," why would we hire an attorney to whom we'd also have to pay an addition $185 per hour for travel? Surely there must be a qualified attorney closer to Redondo Beach for whom we wouldn't incur this additional expense. Within just this last month, the City paid approximately $175,000.00 to outside vendors for attorney bills. I realize we don't always have the in-house expertise for some legal matters, but outsourcing legal help seems to be trending as more of the norm instead of the necessary exception(s). Regardless, certainly there must be a qualified, local attorney to conduct workplace investigations.
Agenda Item: eComments for N.1. 22-3636 DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE FY 2021-22 MIDYEAR
BUDGET REPORT
RECEIVE AND FILE THE FY 2021-22 MIDYEAR BUDGET REPORT AND THE PRESENTATION ON THE STATUS OF THE FY 2021- 22 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
ADOPT BY 4/5 VOTE AND BY TITLE ONLY RESOLUTION NO. 2202-010, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDONDO BEACH, CALIFORNIA, MODIFYING THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021-22 Overall Sentiment
Roger Carlson
Location:
Submitted At: 7:21am 02-15-22
Waterfront and Economic Development department is now staffed by one person, rather than 3, hopefully temporarily, at an extraordinarily busy time. We have the Beachlife festival approaching and the Amenities study approaching final public comment, as well as ongoing work throughout the city. With less staff the department will under-run budget. Please consider using this surplus to help the department with part time staffing.
Agenda Item: eComments for N.2. 22-3729 DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON CRIME AND VEHICLE COLLISION STATISTICS AND TRENDS FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2021
Overall Sentiment
Brianna Egan
Location:
Submitted At: 5:45pm 02-15-22
Road design is crucial to bringing down the number of fatal collisions and injuries of drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists. The data here show that in 2021 there was an increase in fatal collisions, injury collisions, DUIs, and hit-and-runs in Redondo Beach. There was also an over 40% increase in vehicle vs bicyclist collisions and bicyclist injuries. Standard street specifications prioritize motorists at the expense of other users of streets, such as arterials that are designed for many cars, many lanes, and high speeds and transportation agencies that favor speed of travel. Too often the focus is then placed on greater enforcement to reduce collisions and deaths, when the real culprit is the very road design that encourages high speeds.
The elderly are more likely to be killed while walking than other age groups. Children are killed crossing the street or on bikes. People want to commute by bike to work, school, or the store, but are understandably wary of hazards due to a lack of safe infrastructure and instead resort to driving. City council should request additional data beyond what is presented in these charts, with actionable details that give demographics of the drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists involved in these categories of collisions (e.g. age and gender) and the locations of these collisions in a map. Maybe there are clear "hot spots" in the city that would benefit from immediate improvements. Regardless, I urge city council to make every effort to improve roadway designs via strategies like traffic calming initiatives, bulb-outs for pedestrian cross-walks, car-free street pilots, and inexpensive protected bike lane build-outs (think: planters, boulders, metal bollards). We cannot accept traffic deaths as normal or acceptable. I look forward to future actions in this area.