Utilities · Los Angeles

LADWP in 2026: the holdout that kept net metering whole

Written by the Solar Learning Lab research deskUpdated August 17, 20268 min read

When California gutted export compensation for the big three investor owned utilities in 2023, Los Angeles never followed. The Department of Water and Power answers to its own board, not the CPUC, and its net metering guidelines still credit surplus solar against your bill at the rate you pay. In a state where new PG&E and SCE customers earn pennies on exports, that makes the LA basin a structural exception, and most Angelenos have no idea.

1.4M

Electric customers served by LADWP, the largest municipal utility in the country

26.4¢

Tier 1 total consumption charge for July through September 2026, before tiers climb toward 41 cents

10 kW

Ceiling for fast-track interconnection review when there is no battery or service upgrade

LADWP bills residential customers on tiered Schedule R-1A with adjustment factors that reset every January, April, July and October. Solar exports net against consumption at the applicable retail rate, credits roll forward but never convert to cash, and the utility's own rebate program is closed. The value case rests on offsetting tiers that reach into the high 30s per kWh in summer, not on incentives.

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Why a city utility plays different

LADWP was established more than a century ago and today delivers power to 1.4 million electric customers across the city, backed by a generation fleet with 10,896 MW of net maximum plant capacity that supplied more than 20,749 GWh in fiscal 2023-24. Because it is municipally owned, rate design and solar policy are set locally. There is no competitive choice inside city limits, and no CPUC docket can rewrite LA's export rules from Sacramento or San Francisco. Policy risk still exists, but it runs through the city's own process, which historically moves slower.

Sources: LADWP, who we are; LADWP power system.

Tiered rates that move quarterly

The standard residential schedule is R-1A, three tiers with a total consumption charge that includes adjustment factors recalculated four times a year. The 2026 published values so far:

2026 period	Tier 1	Tier 2	Tier 3
January through March	$0.24771	$0.30630	$0.30630
April through May	$0.24362	$0.30221	$0.30221
June	$0.24362	$0.30221	$0.38922
July through September	$0.26408	$0.32267	$0.40968
October through December	Not yet published

Source: LADWP residential electric rates, per kWh, total consumption charge including adjustment factors. Base rates date to July 1, 2019; the adjustment factors do the moving.

Add the fixed side: a monthly Power Access Charge of $2.30, $7.90 or $22.70 depending on tier, and a $10 monthly minimum. The optional R-1B time-of-use schedule prices summer high peak at 35.1 cents against a 26.5 cent base, plus a $12 service charge. For context, the statewide average California home used 503 kWh a month at 31.97 cents in 2024 per EIA Table 5A, so a heavy-usage LA household living in Tier 3 summers is paying well above that.

Net metering, still at retail

The operative document is the amended net energy metering guidelines, revised November 23, 2020 and still the published rulebook. Net consumption bills at your regular rate. If generation beats consumption in a billing period, the credit for the excess applies to your balance and carries into later bills. The credits never become cash, do not pay taxes or the minimum charge, and die with the account. No fetched LADWP page announces any successor tariff or net billing transition, and we checked.

Compare that to what a new PG&E or SCE customer gets under net billing and the gap compounds into thousands of dollars over a system's life. It is the quiet headline of LA solar, and it is why we treat the city separately from the rest of the state on our California page.

Source: LADWP amended NEM guidelines.

Getting connected

Interconnection starts with an application at ladwp.com/nem, which issues a Work Request number. Systems under 10 kW AC with no battery and no service upgrade qualify for fast-track review. The building side runs through LADBS first: its Express Permit program covers rooftop PV up to 10 kW on one- and two-family homes with service of 225 amps or less, online only and contractors only. Once LADBS finalizes the permit, LADWP inspects and sets the net meter. The one published fee element we found is the microinverter schedule, $8 to $27 for typical residential sizes, which tells you permitting cost is not the obstacle here. Queue time and paperwork discipline are.

Sources: LADWP NEM guidelines; LADBS Express Permits bulletin; LADBS microinverter fee bulletin. Full permit walkthrough on our Los Angeles page.

LADWP solar questions, answered

Did NEM 3.0 cut my export value in Los Angeles?

No. The 2023 net billing change applied to California's investor owned utilities under CPUC jurisdiction. LADWP is a municipal utility governed by its own board, and its published guidelines still credit excess generation against your bill rather than paying a lower export price. That is the single biggest reason LA solar math beats most of California. Source: LADWP NEM guidelines.

Can I get cash for my excess credits?

No. Credits carry forward to future bills but LADWP does not cut checks, credits cannot offset taxes or the minimum charge, and any balance left when you close the account is zeroed out. Size the system to your consumption, not for export income.

Does LADWP pay a solar rebate?

The utility's own rebate is gone; the guidelines state plainly that the Solar Incentive Program is discontinued. What remains is the state-funded Self-Generation Incentive Program for income-qualified solar plus storage, which is first come, first served and explicitly not guaranteed. Sources: NEM guidelines; LADWP SGIP page.

Which months have the priciest power?

July through September. The 2026 third-quarter tier prices run from 26.4 cents in Tier 1 to just under 41 cents in Tier 3, the highest published values of the year. That is also when a south-facing LA roof produces hardest, which is the happy coincidence the whole investment leans on. Source: LADWP residential rates.

Is the time-of-use plan better for solar homes?

Sometimes. Schedule R-1B for July through September 2026 prices high peak at 35.1 cents, low peak at 29.3 and base at 26.5, with a $12 monthly service charge. A solar home that exports through afternoon peaks and consumes off-peak can come out ahead, but the answer depends on your load shape. Model it both ways before switching.

What we could not verify

Still open as of August 17, 2026: the exact parcel-level boundary between LADWP and neighboring investor owned utilities, an all-in typical residential solar permit fee for LADBS, LADWP-specific average monthly usage, SGIP dollar amounts for LADWP customers, whether any net billing successor is under consideration internally, and the October through December 2026 rate values, which are simply not published yet. We would rather show you the hole than fill it with a guess.

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