LADWP's aging power infrastructure requires significant capital investments to be made over the next 5 years: parts of the transmission and distribution systems will need to be upgraded or replaced and some generating units will need to be repowered. LADWP is in the process of updating its Power System Reliability Program (PSRP) to address these issues while maintaining adequate reliability level throughout LADWP power system in a manner that is most cost effective. IEC and its team of experts evaluated LADWP's Power System Reliability Program (PSRP) and performed a Reliability Benchmark Assessment (RBA) consistent with industry best practices to ensure that adequate levels of expenditure are committed to the overall PSRP with regards to distribution, substation, transmission, and generation systems.

IEC initially reviewed the proposed PSRP program for comprehensiveness, effectiveness, and alignment with industry practices and evaluated targets for distribution, substation, transmission, and generation. The team also met with LADWP subject matter experts in each Department to collect information and gain additional insight. IEC evaluated LADWP's proposed Power System Reliability Criteria and capital job prioritization methodology and reviewed capital and equipment replacement prioritization methodologies within each Power System function. The project also included evaluating spending levels, budget and staff resource allocation, of distribution, substation, transmission, and generation capital  and maintenance programs. As part of the final comprehensive PSRP evaluation and benchmarking report, our team also identified opportunities and provided recommendations that would lead to resource savings and the improvement of the overall effectiveness of the PSRP. This report deliverable was presented to the City of Los Angeles Board of Commissioners and was used to support and justify a rate increase for LADWP.