SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – On Tuesday, Liberty Utilities’ local president Eric Schwarzrock presented to city council, following a request for Liberty Utilities to address the closure of the walk-in center. Schwarzrock also addressed rates, the SMART meters, and the search for a new energy supplier.
Schwarzrock became president last year and expressed his excitement for getting to work locally, as he has been in the Reno-Tahoe area for the last 30 years. He described Liberty Utilities as a “small utility.” In the Tahoe Electric Region, they serve roughly 50,000 customers in wildfire-prone areas, and Schwarzrock went on to describe the kind of wildfire mitigation they do. Liberty Utilities has requested revenue increases directly related to wildfire insurance cost increases, and filed a novel rate increase related to recovering costs related to the 2020 Mountain View Fire.
Liberty Utilities announced that they were closing the walk-in center in December of last year, and Mayor Cody Bass asked the council to write a letter addressing the issues that arose for constituents—difficulty in reaching out to customer service and an inability to pay with cash through online or phone means.
Schwarzrock said they were going to be adding payment options to CVS and 7-Eleven locations in town, where customers could do cash or card payments for no fee. Currently, you can also pay at Plaza Tapatia. He also suggested having options for personalized customer care if the phone line wasn’t as effective. Schwarzrock acknowledged that those options should have been in place prior to the center’s closure.
The walk-in center will become a design center for developers and contractors, responding to requests by developers who felt in-person meetings would cut down on back and forth emails.
Since Liberty Utilities will be seeking new energy suppliers after NV Energy completes the Greenlink project, Schwarzrock said that Liberty has been preparing for this change since 2019. He assured that the transition would not cause an interruption of service and that existing powerlines and their solar facilities in Nevada would continue to serve the region. Schwarzrock also said it’s possible that Greenlink may take longer than the May 2027 deadline that was initially stated.
The CPUC granted an 11% increase for Liberty’s general rate case, which Schwarzrock said was largely due to wildfire mitigation. Schwarzrock said Liberty is proud of their vegetation management, which is better than other utilities, even of larger size.
Lastly, Schwarzrock touched on the SMART meters, which have been installed through other utilities in California. “We’re one of the last to do it,” he said. The cost for installing them was covered by a $13 million grant from the Department of Energy, which means no costs were passed to customers. He also specified that there is an opt-out option for the meters. Councilmember Heather Horgan asked about the fee for opting out and Schwarzrock clarified that there is a fee (approximately $53 a month), which is halved for CARE customers.
“It is my goal to be transparent with our community and our customers about these items and any other items around the basin,” said Schwarzrock.
Horgan also asked about entering California and CAISO (California Independent System Operator), but Schwarzrock said, “Simply put, physically, the lines are just connected to Nevada.” He said they considered lines from El Dorado to South Lake Tahoe, but installing those would cost hundreds of millions of dollars and cause an impact to the land.
Councilmember David Jinkens praised the wildfire mitigation and undergrounding lines and said that he was interested in collaborating with Liberty. He asked about the safety of the SMART meters, and Schwarzrock responded, “We would not have proceeded with a project if we didn’t think it was safe.” He invited people to express their concerns about the meters to Liberty, and added that the meters would also lead to an improved outage map.
Jinkens also asked about extending the franchise agreement guaranteeing a sufficient and affordable supply of electricity, which Schwarzrock said they were looking forward to updating.
Mayor Pro Tem Keith Roberts said that he has seen costs rise and inquired about the actual cost savings, which he hasn’t seen. Schwarzrock responded that Liberty has the second lowest rates of investor owned utility areas and would have the third lowest after their general rate case.
“Yes, it costs more, yes, you see that each month in the bill, but it’s going to very important things,” said Schwarzrock. He referenced pole replacements and undergrounding projects, as well as fuel sampling and wildfire cameras at their weather stations to guide what they do. Schwarzrock said, “We are often referred to as the entity with the best management program in the nation.”
Councilmember Scott Robbins expressed concerns about energy reliability, which costs businesses extra. Schwarzrock said they considered mitigation projects through risk modeling, with traditional hardening, cover conducting or undergrounding. Robbins asked staff to follow up and request what undergrounding projects were planned in the city limits.
Schwarzrock also said that the granite in the Tahoe Basin was a reason why they didn’t always choose undergrounding projects, as the costs can be 10 to 12 times the cost. However, Robbins said that most of south shore didn’t have granite, and again insisted to see undergrounding projects.
During public comment, people requested further information, suggested looking at Lodi’s natural gas plant and complained about not being informed about SMART meters before they were installed. Others expressed that they were unhappy with the fire suppression efforts in the forest versus managing them in town, as well as potential fire hazards for old homes or privacy concerns through the new meters.
Nick Exline, who serves as a board director for the South Tahoe Public Utilities District (STPUD), expressed issues with Liberty’s rates. “A utility company, barring an act of god, should never increase their rates 30 to 40% without rampant mismanagement… We want to reevaluate the tariff at Liberty Utilities. We don’t think it’s fair for the community, for the ratepayers and it’s definitely not fair to STPUD.” Exline expressed that he wanted the community to own their assets.
Molly Armanino of the Tahoe Climate Change Network believed it was a time to explore public utility options, such as partnering with Pioneer, exploring community choice aggregates or diverting budget to other public utility options. “Liberty Utilities hides as a small utility so [they] can hide behind a regulatory wall.”
Other public comments expressed a desire to divest from Liberty or prioritize clean and renewable energy in the letter to the CPUC.
The council motion to receive the presentation and to work further on a letter to the CPUC passed unanimously.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – A vaccination called PZP could be a potential solution to stop mother bears teaching their cubs to break into houses, according to the BEAR League. Executive director Ann Bryant says she’s spoken with the Science and Conservation Center (SCC) in Montana, which provides PZP to zoos and organizations that manage wild animal populations.
Last summer, bear #753, also referred to as Hope, was responsible for several entries into properties along with her cub, sometimes called Bounce. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) ordered that she should be killed to prevent further human-bear interactions, one of the many ways that the CDFW manages bear populations.
The BEAR League was vocally opposed to the killing, and the city of South Lake Tahoe decided in December of last year to establish a collaborative response protocol group including the city police department, bear groups, the CDFW, South Tahoe Refuse, homeowners associations and other interested parties.
At the last city council meeting in March, Bryant spoke during public comment and said they had buy-in from the SCC, Oakland Zoo and California Conservation Society to potentially launch a pilot program to use PZP on Hope.
Bryant said that the CDFW and BEAR League agreed that the majority of break-ins were from mother bears with dependent cubs, who then transmit that behavior to their cubs. If they have female cubs, then that negative behavior continues to be transmitted to cubs.
So, by targeting sows who display this unwanted behavior, it would stop them from continuing the cycle of bears learning to forage in human environments. Many other behaviors are also related to raising their cubs, such as seeking shelter in human environments to escape aggressive male bears or seeking out easier foraging sources while pregnant or teaching their cubs—these could potentially be stopped as well.
The SCC works with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and internationally to provide PZP to zoos, providing reproductive management to zoos with animals that should not be breeding in captivity. They also provide the PZP vaccination to manage wild populations of ungulates like deer and horses.
PZP, short for Porcine Zona Pellucida, was developed in 1988. The zona pellucida is a protein that surrounds the egg and receives sperm to fertilize it. By injecting a female animal with PZP, a pig (hence porcine) zona pellucida is introduced into the target animal’s body. This triggers an immune response where the target animal’s immune system will respond, producing antibodies that then attach to their own zona pellucida, preventing their eggs from being fertilized.
The vaccine must be administered annually and has a 90% or greater efficacy with hundreds of different species. It has also been proven to be safe to give to pregnant and lactating animals, shows no debilitating health side effects even with long term use, does not impact social behaviors and cannot pass through the food chain. Even if an animal were to eat another that was treated with PZP, they would not have the immune response triggered by its passage through the digestive system.
“We have found it works amazingly well with bears with 95 to 98% efficacy,” said Kim Frank, executive director of the SCC. “We have seen with bears in zoos that after they’ve been on the vaccine, that if we discontinue the treatment, they return to normal fertility in one to three years.”
Frank continued, “The plan in South Lake Tahoe as I understand it, is that they would not try to decrease the population of black bears, just prevent sows from teaching their cubs to break in.”
Bryant believes that by using bear #753 as a pilot, they could protect her from being killed and could observe the impact that PZP could have in a wild population of bears. “With our background and our network, we have the ability to study this, and it has been shown to be reversible—so there would be no long-term negative effects,” said Bryant. “We are not tampering with the bears’ natural biology, and they will still go into estrus, mate and so on. They would just be unable to conceive cubs if treated with PZP.”
The pilot program with wild bears would be a first for the SCC, as it has previously only been used in bear populations in zoos.
The SCC provides PZP to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and its partners in non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to manage wild populations of horses and deer throughout the west, including in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Arizona and Nevada. In Nevada and Arizona, NGOs have a memorandum of understanding with their state departments of agriculture, showing that a partnership with state departments is possible.
Frank says that such buy-in from stakeholders is key to making these kinds of programs work. “In all the years I’ve worked on this, I see everyone wants the same end—a healthy ecosystem and healthy animals,” she said. “I want to see openness to potential solutions for problems. And I understand that killing is one solution, but this is something that could work. Why not try it?”
Bryant feels a sense of urgency around the potential pilot program, as the breeding season approaches and bear #753 will leave her cub. She knows that to make this program work, they would need buy-in from the CDFW as well. But she worries that the state department will move too slowly to make it a reality. “We are almost out of time,” said Bryant, who says they have been talking about the potential of such a program since fall of last year.
“If we don’t do anything, what is the point? We keep the status quo of killing bears?” asked Bryant. “Killing bears is not ending the cycle. This has a huge opportunity to resolve the issue, even if it won’t be a quick fix. And if we work together, the world could benefit from the work we do with a wild population.”
Bryant hopes there will be community support for this novel, potential solution. She also hopes there will be support for making South Lake Tahoe a bear-safe or bear sanctuary city, which she clarifies would mean the city would seek out non-lethal solutions for managing bears.
Bears are on the agenda for the upcoming city council meeting on April 21, where police chief Jeff Roberson and sustainability coordinator Sara Letton will report on the collaborative bear process and protocol.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – One of the three Democratic candidates for California District 3 (CA-03) attended a candidate forum on Wednesday at Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC). Bennett, who the Tribune has interviewed before, fielded questions from students on his vision for supporting students as a representative.
Bennett described himself as a “people first, corporate free” candidate who decided to run for Congress last April. Now, he is in the primary race for the Democratic candidate, who will then run for election this November. Moderator Beck Machin-Ward asked Bennett questions that had been submitted by students for the forum.
Bennett had a strong stance for supporting students, especially with the looming question of financial aid and federal grants. Recently, college graduates who utilized the SAVE Plan under President Biden were made to begin payments on their student loans. At the same time, other grants and programs that support disadvantaged students, such as the TRIO programs, feel at risk with the slashing of the Department of Education.
Bennett expressed an interest in public universities and trade schools becoming tuition free to increase access. He also said he would advocate for students of LTCC who live in Nevada, as they pay an out-of-state tuition despite LTCC being the only nearby community college they can attend. Regarding undocumented students, Bennett also reaffirmed his stance for abolishing ICE and passing humane immigration policies.
In response to questions about the environment and climate change, Bennett said it was one of his most important platform points and referenced the ongoing challenges of Liberty Utilities entering the energy market, which he attributed to NV Energy prioritizing data centers over their existing customers.
He also addressed disinformation and the lack of youth civic engagement, saying that he was interested in increasing political education and building community as a way to increase it. Bennett is the youngest candidate currently running in CA-03.
During the open question portion, students asked Bennett about his stances on protecting transgender Californians from violence, what congressional committees he was interested in joining, gun control and his availability as a candidate—a hot topic for Tahoe residents who felt Rep. Kiley did not attend town halls.
Bennett expressed that he wanted to enshrine LGBTQ+ and women’s rights into the Constitution, paying special attention to transgender people, who he said are often used as a political scapegoat (along with other marginalized groups.)
As a disabled veteran, Bennett said he was interested in joining committees on Foreign Affairs, Military and Veterans’ Affairs. “We need people with moral clarity involved on these and we need more veterans in positions of power, because many representatives claim to care about them and then show that they really don’t.”
Bennett also said he had experience with artillery and weapons, including guns. While he acknowledged that guns routinely cause harm to gun owners and their family, he felt that current gun laws needed to be “common sense” including a public health lens, limits on automatic rifles. “It should be based in safety and not penalizing people through money.”
Lastly, Bennett said he saw a lack of town halls from both Ami Bera (one of his opponents in the Democratic primary) and Kevin Kiley, and said he would commit to regularly meeting with constituents. “I want to spend as little time in DC as possible because I want to spend time with the people I actually represent,” said Bennett.
Bennett lastly gave his support for policies like the Green New Deal and a billionaire tax both federally and in California.
Other candidates were extended an invite to candidate forums, including Heidi Hall, who will appear at LTCC on Wednesday, April 22 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
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