In October 2004, after a two-year advocacy campaign by the Environment California Research & Policy Center and our allies, Los Angeles instituted a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requiring that its municipal utility, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (L.A. DWP), generate at least 20 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2017. L.A. DWP is the largest publicly-owned utility in the country, generating more power than the utilities of 19 other states.

The groundwork for our effort was laid with solid research. On March 26, 2003, we released Clean and Affordable Power: How Los Angeles Can Reach 20 Percent Renewables Without Raising Rates. It presented an independent economic impact analysis of implementing a 20 percent RPS at the L.A. DWP by 2017. It found that such an RPS would not raise rates for L.A. DWP customers, and may save money in the long run. We hired a well-known energy economist and partnered with the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technology to write and release the report.

Days before the release, we met with the editorial board of the Los Angeles Times. On March 23, 2003, the paper officially endorsed our effort to convince Mayor Jim Hahn to implement the RPS.

Next, to highlight the economic benefits of a statewide RPS, on July 28, 2003, we issued a second report, Renewable Energy and Jobs: Employment Impacts of Developing Markets for Renewables in California. It showed that renewable energy technologies could grow California’s economy and provide thousands of jobs. California Power Authority Director S. David Freeman, as well as several renewable energy companies, joined us in releasing the report. The release garnered media in outlets such as the Sacramento Bee, the San Diego Union-Tribune, San Francisco’s KRON TV and many others.

To draw attention to the local air pollution impacts of Los Angeles’s continued reliance on fossil fuels instead of renewable energy, we released a report on November 19, 2003, Unnecessary Pollution: Impacts of L.A. Dept. of Water and Power’s Increased Reliance on Natural Gas Instead of Clean, Renewable Energy. The report found that, despite attempts to clean up the power plants located within the Los Angeles area, the city was still becoming more and more dependent on fossil fuels to meet its energy needs. The net result was an increase in pollution in neighborhoods already suffering from high asthma rates in children.

We released the report in coordination with the Fernangeles Elementary School, located just one mile from the L.A. DWP’s Valley Generating Station. The head of the school’s PTA spoke at the media conference and highlighted the school’s higher-than-average rates of chronic asthma. The Los Angeles NBC affiliate covered the release, and soon after, the LA Daily News published an op-ed that we jointly authored with the school’s principal.

In addition to our media work, we mobilized grassroots support for the RPS during January 2004. In one week, we generated more than 1,000 calls and e-mails to Mayor Hahn asking him to support the RPS.

On January 28, 2004, Mayor Hahn announced his support for a RPS for L.A. DWP. A few months later, the mayor announced that the city would also halt plans to build a new coal-fired plant in Utah.

On April 21, 2004, Environment California Research & Policy Center organized more than a dozen entertainment industry figures, including comedian and political commentator Bill Maher and actors Benicio Del Toro and Alec Baldwin, to sign a letter to Mayor Hahn urging the L.A. DWP to convert 20 percent of its energy production to renewable sources.

Throughout the campaign, Environment California Research & Policy Center staff worked with coalition partners, meeting with Mayor Hahn, members of the City Council, including Energy Committee Chairman Tony Cardenas, and key staff of the L.A. DWP.

The mayor, the only public officer with authority to order the DWP to act, officially adopted the 20 percent by 2017 RPS, creating a market for 1,000 watts of renewable energy. The city council also gave its approval, finishing the process.