City Council approves settlement to retain half of DWP’s Mojave stake amid reliability concerns

The Los Angeles City Council voted to approve a settlement with Salt River Project that preserves half of the Department of Water and Power’s (DWP) existing stake in the Mohave (Mojave) Power Plant and allows the sale of the remaining half.

DWP General Manager David Wiggs told the council the department’s recommendation reflects a balance between reliability and cost, noting the plant supplies low-cost generation: “This plant provides low cost power at about 2¢.” He and the department’s power staff urged the council that, given recent market uncertainty and delays in other local projects, retaining a portion of Mojave was the “prudent conservative alternative.”

The settlement resolves a multi‑party bargaining process after earlier attempts to sell the full DWP interest to a private buyer triggered the exercise of rights by Salt River Project and related contractual payments. Council discussion focused on three themes: short-term reliability and the risk of purchasing replacement power on volatile spot markets; the environmental and long-term policy implications of remaining partially invested in a coal-fired plant undergoing required emissions upgrades; and the legal/financial history that produced settlement offers.

Council memb…