Latest Accountability Releases

Scrapping Of Ventura Natural Gas Plant Is A Win For Consumers

Consumers just scored a victory with NRG's announcement that it is pulling the plug on a natural gas power plant in Ventura. The Houston utility had contracted...

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly From Brown’s Pen

Consumers looking for bold action this year on laws protecting their wallets from rapacious drug companies, their privacy from the prying eyes of telecom...

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti Just Sold Los Angeles Down The Aqueduct

Mayor Eric Garcetti just sold out Los Angeles by pushing through the Delta Tunnels. Two of his five appointees to the Metropolitan Water District...

Seriously, Will Governor Sign A Bill Benefitting Just One Developer And His Sister?

Every day, we have been scanning Governor Jerry Brown’s legislative updates. So far, he hasn’t signed SB 634, a bill with the innocuous, sleepy-sounding name...

CAN THE PICKEL!

If Fred Pickel is supposed to be the public's Ratepayer Advocate against LADWP, he sure hasn't been acting like it.

Consumer Advocacy Groups Want LADWP’s Official Watchdog Fired. Here’s Why

Several groups have gathered at Los Angeles City Hall today to call for the firing of an official watchdog charged with fighting for the...

Consumer Watchdog Kicks Off Campaign To Fire LADWP Ratepayer Advocate Fred Pickel

Santa Monica, CA — Consumer Watchdog, Food & Water Watch, DWP ratepayers and other advocacy groups rally today in front of City Hall to...

Consumer Watchdog Calls On LA City Council To Fire LADWP Ratepayer Advocate Based On His Backing Of Delta Tunnels

Los Angeles, CA -- The Los Angeles City Council should reject a recommendation by Fred Pickel, Director of the Office of Public Accountability at...

Consumer Watchdog Calls On LA City Council President To Appoint Consumer Advocate To Find Next Ratepayer Advocate, Says Pickel Failed LADWP Customers

Santa Monica, CA---Consumer Watchdog today urged City Council President Herb Wesson to name a consumer advocate to the citizens’ committee that will nominate the...

Amazon Slime: Amazon’s New Consumer Deception

Two Consumer Watchdog reports show that Amazon is deceiving its customers by putting fake crossed-out prices next to its products.  It’s a deceptive marketing...

LADWP Customer Bill Of Rights Nothing But Paper Without Overhaul Of Utility Bureaucracy And Independent Ratepayer Voice To Hold DWP Accountable

Santa Monica, CA -- The LADWP’s pledge to give customers a bill of rights is a step forward, but the LADWP remains in need of a major bureaucratic overhaul, Consumer Watchdog said today.

Consumer Watchdog Tells LA Mayor That Ratepayers Should Be Paid Interest On Money DWP Owes in Overbilling Scandal And Calls For Transparency About DWP...

Santa Monica, CA -- Consumer Watchdog wrote Mayor Eric Garcetti today that last-minute revisions to a DWP ratepayer overbilling settlement now boost attorneys’ fees 46 percent to $19 million from $13 million, but shortchange ratepayers who should be paid interest on refunds owed them for three years.

KCBS TV-2 Los Angeles, CA: LADWP Overcharge Refunds Delayed Again

LADWP ratepayers who were misbilled and overcharged will have to wait until mid-2017 to get their refunds, in yet another delay.

Misbilled LA DWP Ratepayers Denied $44 Million In Refunds Until Mid 2017 Despite Pledge Of 2016 Payments

Santa Monica, CA — Consumer Watchdog today said that court filings by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power showing misbilled ratepayers will have to wait until mid-2017 to get $44 million in refunds are unacceptable and Mayor Garcetti should act immediately to pay ratepayers back.  

SoCalGas and California Regulators Cry Wolf In Report Claiming Aliso Canyon Needed To Meet Winter Peak Demand, Says Consumer Watchdog and Food & Water...

KNBC TV-4 Los Angeles: LADWP Overcharge Settlement Still Cause For Concern

Consumer Watchdog has raised concerns that refunds owed ratepayers of Los Angeles DWP, many of whom have already made overpayments, will not be delivered for one year and a half under the best case scenario, while plaintiff attorneys will get paid $13 million in May.

Consumer Watchdog's problems with the settlement include the need for immediate refunds, no more threats of disconnections, no requirements for deposits for people who owe back bills, and the need for an impartial standard for whether ratepayers get paid, not whether DWP says so or not.

Judge Rejects Preliminary Approval Of DWP Overbilling Case For Third Time: Calls For Pro-Consumer Changes, Warns Attorneys Won’t Be Paid Until Ratepayers Are

Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elihu Berle for the third time failed to grant preliminary approval to an overbilling settlement with DWP ratepayers, calling for more disclosure and pro-consumer changes.  He said he would grant preliminary approval if those conditions are met.

Ratepayers and Consumer Advocates Urge LA Mayor and City Attorney To Pull Back Anti-Consumer DWP Over-Billing Settlement

Los Angeles, CA -- Consumer Watchdog and overbilled ratepayers today urged Los Angeles City leaders to immediately fix or withdraw a “breathtakingly anti-consumer settlement agreement” over tens of millions of dollars in overbilling at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).

KCAL TV-9 Los Angeles: LADWP Settlement Is Bad For Consumers Says Group

Randy Paige reports on how Consumer Watchdog and ratepayers today urged L.A. city leaders to fix or withdraw what they call a bad settlement over millions in overbilling by the LADWP.

The Progressive’s Guide to Raising Hell: How to Win Grassroots Campaigns, Pass Ballot Box Laws, and Get the Change We Voted For

Change is no simple matter in American politics-a fact that Americans have recently learned well. Elections rarely produce the change they promise. After the...

Accountability Videos

Accountability in the news

Latest Report

Support Consumer Watchdog

Subscribe to our newsletter

To be updated with all the latest news, press releases and special reports.