Westchester : Power Outages Criticized

Plagued by a spate of power outages, the largest commercial landlord in the downtown area is demanding prompt action from top city officials.

“There’s no excuse for so many outages within a 60-day period,” Bill West, vice president and general manager for H. B. Drollinger Co., said in a prepared statement. “There are no big users on the system. It seems preventive maintenance needs to take a higher priority.”

According to the release, the service disruptions, which began in December, have stranded tenants in elevators, rendered computer and telephone systems inoperable, triggered silent alarms, and left buildings in the dark.

The letter itemized six power disruptions since Dec. 15 at the Airport Office Center, a five-story office and retail complex on Sepulveda Boulevard. The longest outage was 3 1/2 hours.

Dorothy Jensen, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, blamed the disruptions on lightning strikes and high winds. “Overall, we feel the system is reliable,” she said.