The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is facing scrutiny over steep rate increases, with some customers seeing bills rise by thousands of dollars. A CBS California Investigates look at the issue compared LADWP's rates with those of other Southern California utilities and examined the pay of its top staff.
On Tuesday night, the LADWP Board of Commissioners passed a resolution asking for a review of the agency's rates, rate structures and the way they are applied to individual customers. Tim O'Connor, executive director of the city's Office of Public Accountability, the independent ratepayer advocate, called it "a great step in the right direction." He cautioned, however, that "the devil's going to be in the details."
An analysis by the UCLA School of Law's Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment found that LADWP's rates have jumped 45% in the past year, while Southern California Edison's rose 4%. Denise Grab, director of the institute's Emmett Clean Energy Law and Leadership Project, said the increase is "significantly in excess of inflation." O'Connor's office reached a similar conclusion, finding that water and power prices have outpaced inflation over the past 18 months.
Both experts tied the rise to heavier spending. O'Connor said LADWP kept rates roughly in line with inflation for many years, but investment has grown since the mid-2023 to 2024 period. Grab said the utility is playing catch-up after deferring maintenance, following years of rates that were low compared with the state average.
Even so, LADWP remains cheaper than some neighbors. Grab said SCE rates are generally about 20% higher. A 2025 study by her organization found LADWP's rates below those of Glendale Water and Power and SCE. A 2026 study commissioned by the city of Pasadena and carried out by New Gen Strategies found Glendale and SCE had higher rates in October 2026 than LADWP, Burbank Water and Power, and Pasadena Water and Power.
The investigation also looked at pay. Nine LADWP executives earn more than $700,000 a year, and more than two dozen supervisors earn more than $600,000. O'Connor said salaries are not the main driver of customers' higher bills, which mostly fund capital projects, operations and maintenance, though he said pay should still be reviewed for reasonableness. LADWP said the roles are highly skilled and in demand across the industry. It said overtime makes up 5% of its $10.8 billion budget, total labor is 18%, and overtime rose 17%, from about $426 million in 2024 to more than $499 million in 2025.
Further increases are expected. Grab pointed to aging infrastructure, wildfire liability and prevention, and greater air conditioning use during heat waves. A recent LADWP presentation indicates rates are expected to more than double from current levels.
Advocates want better communication and updated rate design. O'Connor said the current rates were designed more than 10 years ago and should reward customers for when they use power, encourage new technology and give people usage data. He also urged reforms to time-of-use pricing to take advantage of oversupplied solar energy, and a higher income threshold for low-income assistance, arguing that the federal poverty level does not reflect Los Angeles living costs. LADWP says it is rolling out smart meters over the next year to help customers better understand their bills.
