DWP grilled on transfer

Los Angeles city officials began Tuesday probing the Department of Water and Power's attempt earlier this year to push through a rate hike by threatening the city with financial penalty if it was rejected.

A recent city audit found that the DWP's threat to withhold $73 million from city coffers if it didn't get the rate hike was not justified by the agency's finances and critics have compared the move to an extortion attempt.

In the end, the City Council approved a lower hike than the DWP had sought.