It probably comes as no surprise: Californians pay far more for electricity than most Americans.
On average, residential electricity rates in California are nearly double the national average, according to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office.
While customers with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) have complained about their recent bills, their rates are lower than those of other utility customers in Southern California, according to the Emmett Clean Energy Law and Leadership Project at the UCLA School of Law.
“Edison customers are still paying about 20% more than DWP customers for the same amount of electricity,” Denise Grab, who published a report last year comparing municipally owned or nonprofit utility models like LADWP and investor-owned companies like Southern California Edison, with the project, told NBC Los Angeles.
Grab speculated that although everyone in Southern California experienced the same summer weather, Southern California Edison customers might have been better prepared for the bill.
“(SCE customers) have been paying higher bills for decades, so I think they’re used to it,” she said. “It’s just a huge sticker shock for LADWP customers.”
San Diego Gas & Electric and Pacific Gas & Electric customers pay even more, according to Grab’s report.
The LADWP insists the unusually high statements people have received this summer are due to high usage.
“It’s not rates. It’s usage. When it’s very humid outside, people are running air conditioning because air conditioning does two things. It cools the house and it removes the humidity,” Dave Hanson, interim director for LADWP, said. “When it’s doing all of that, it’s running continuously. You’re going to have a high-usage bill.”
LADWP rates have gone up by about 8% compared to a year ago, and by about 45% since 2023 for a typical household’s electricity usage.
“The LADWP has offered very low rates to its customers for decades. Part of that was deferred maintenance,” Grab explained. “They put off repairs and improvements for many years, which had kept rates low. And now they’re spending to repair and replace aging equipment and expand service with rising usage, which is driving up costs.”
More bad news: Energy rates are likely to keep going up regardless of the provider as utilities modernize infrastructure, comply with environmental regulations and pay lawsuit settlements.
“We have this era of increasing use. We have this era of more transmission needed to move renewable power between different regions and meet our clean energy goals that will ultimately lower.” Grab said. “But these are costs that will build up over time.”
Mayor Karen Bass said this week she’s asked the LADWP board to halt service shutoffs for those with overdue bills. Under her directive, the utility will also send out usage explanations to customers with suggestions on how they can lower their bills.
