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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The City Council Wednesday approved a motion calling for a study on financial programs that could assist low- and middle-income tenants to offset the cost of installing and operating air conditioning or other cooling devices.
Without previous discussion, the council voted 10-0, with council members Kevin de León, Eunisses Hernandez, Imelda Padilla, Curren Price and Monica Rodriguez absent during the vote.
The motion instructs the Housing Department, Climate Mobilization Office and other relevant agencies to report back with an "expansive response" on potential programs to help renters stay cool amid extreme-heat events.
City staff should also consider building efficiency programs and address the possible use of heat pumps, according to the motion.
Hernandez presented the motion in the summer, citing a need for the city to maintain the "highest standard possible of livability as the climate change continues to escalate."
"In recent years we have experienced summers of deadly heat over prolonged periods and we must be prepared for those heat waves to both worsen and persist," the motion reads.
"At this point in the climate emergency, the ability to cool one's home cannot be considered a luxury and rather must be treated as a necessity."
On Sept. 8, the council's Energy and Environment Committee recommended conducting the study. The L.A. Department of Water and Power on that day also made a presentation on existing financial assistance programs to help low- and middle-income renters pay their utilities, as well as existing programs aimed at installing air conditioning equipment.
According to LADWP, about "191k" of its residential customers who rent do not have air conditioning. A portable AC unit is a less expensive option, with an average price of $330, while a window/wall AC unit can average $700, the agency said.
The cost for the department to provide incentives to all LADWP residential customers who rent and who do not have AC would range between $32.5 million and $62.7 million. That does not include the potential costs to upgrade the grid to meet the demand increase, and would require further investigation and analysis, according to the department.
The LADWP offers five programs to assist customers with their utility bills. They are:
-- the EZ Safe Program, formerly known as the Low-Income Discount Program, which offers income-qualified customers a discount to help reduce the cost of electric and water services;
-- the Lifeline Rate Program, which offers an exemption on electric and other utilities to income-qualified seniors 62 years of age or older, and disabled customers;
-- the Life-Support Equipment Discount, which is available to customers who have a full-time member of the household who regularly requires use of an essential life support device that uses electricity;
-- the Physician Certified Allowance Discount, which is available to customers who have a full-time member of the household who has a life- threatening illness, paralysis or compromised immune system; and
-- Level Pay, which assists eligible customers with utility bill budgeting by billing them the same amount every month to level out high seasonal bills. The monthly recurring amount is based on the average of their past usage and costs over the previous 12 months.
LADWP officials noted that, as part of Cool LA, there have been 7,100 conditioner rebates since the launch of the program in 2022; 9,477 units in the pipeline under the department's Comprehensive Affordable Multifamily Retrofits Program, and about 599 HVAC units and 78 heat pumps installed since July 2020 under the Consumer Rebate Program.