City Hall duel over electric rates *

The Department of Water and Power board of commissioners defied the City Council and voted this evening for a higher rate hike than the council had endorsed yesterday. Barely an hour later, the council voted 13-0 to kill the new rate hike. (Tony Cardenas and Richard Alarcon were absent.) Next move is up to Mayor Villaraigosa and his commissioners, who want the higher rates to raise revenue for the utility, in part to fund a shift away from coal power. Villaraigosa so far hasn't been able to muster any council consensus for his plan, so I'm curious to see what he comes up with next. Councilman Paul Krekorian's communications deputy tweeted the night's proceedings (not Koretz's.)