Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) Rate Selection Guide
LADWP is the largest municipal electric utility in the United States, serving over 1.5 million electric customers across Los Angeles. For C&I customers today, data access is limited to the online account portal and ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager benchmarking; advanced metering infrastructure rolling out from September 2025 will eventually expand interval data availability.
Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) Rate Schedule Comparison
| Schedule | Type | Rate | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| A-1 Small General Service | Small commercial | Service charge + facilities charge/kW (min 4 kW) + seasonal energy; Rate A or TOU Rate B | Small businesses and multi-family under 30 kW demand |
| A-2 Primary (4.8 kV) | Large commercial / industrial | Service charge + facilities/kW + seasonal TOU energy + seasonal demand charges | Mid-size commercial 30 kW+ on the 4.8 kV system |
| A-3 Subtransmission (34.5 kV) | Large commercial / industrial | $75/mo service + $4.56/kW facilities + TOU energy ~$0.034-0.060/kWh + demand up to $9.70/kW summer (verified) | Large facilities with on-site 34.5 kV service |
| A-4 Transmission (138 kV) | Industrial transmission | Service + facilities/kW (min 10 MW) + TOU energy + demand by rating period | Very large industrial loads taking transmission-level service |
| EVA1/2/3 EV Charging | Commercial EV | TOU energy + monthly & annual demand charges, bundled base rates | Fleets / depots dedicating a meter to EV charging |
Market Overview
LADWP is a municipal utility governed by the City of Los Angeles, not the CPUC. It is the sole electric provider in its territory with no retail supplier choice and no Community Choice Aggregation.
Need to pull your actual usage data to compare rates? See the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) Data Access Guide →
Current Rate Schedules
LADWP commercial/industrial customers are served under General Service Schedules A-1 through A-4, segmented by maximum demand and the voltage at which service is delivered. Customers below 30 kW take Small General Service (A-1); customers at or above 30 kW are placed on A-2 (4.8 kV primary), A-3 (34.5 kV subtransmission), or A-4 (138 kV transmission). Larger schedules use seasonal, time-of-use energy pricing plus separate facilities and demand charges, and all bills carry pass-through adjustment factors (ECA, ESA, RCA/IRCA). High season runs June-September; low season October-May.
Effective: January 1, 2026 · Full Tariff Book →
| Schedule | Type | Applicability | Structure | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-1 Small General Service | Small commercial / general service | Commercial, multi-family and small business customers with maximum demand below 30 kW (in last 12 months). Rate A standard or Rate B time-of-use. | Monthly service charge + facilities charge per kW (min 4 kW) + seasonal energy charge per kWh; Rate B adds TOU energy pricing. Plus pass-through adjustment factors (ECA, ESA, RCA). | Structure published; specific per-kWh A-1 figures not captured in source — see tariff book+ Facilities charge per kW based on highest demand in last 12 months (no separate monthly demand charge at this size) |
| A-2 Large Commercial (Primary, 4.8 kV) | Large commercial / industrial primary | Service delivered from LADWP's 4.8 kV primary system with facilities demand of 30 kW or greater. Time-of-use Rate A-2B. | Monthly service charge + facilities charge per kW + seasonal TOU energy charges (high/low peak/base) + monthly demand charges (high/low peak/base) by season. Plus adjustment factors. | Seasonal TOU energy; specific A-2 per-kWh figures not captured in source — see tariff book+ Seasonal high-peak / low-peak / base demand charges per kW plus facilities charge per kW (min 30 kW) |
| A-3 Large Commercial / Industrial (Subtransmission, 34.5 kV) | Large commercial / industrial subtransmission | Service delivered from LADWP's 34.5 kV subtransmission system with facilities demand of 30 kW or greater. | Service charge per month + facilities charge per kW + seasonal TOU energy charges + seasonal demand charges + pass-through adjustment factors. High season Jun-Sep, low season Oct-May. | Service charge $75.00/mo; facilities $4.56/kW; energy ~$0.05991/kWh high-peak (summer), $0.05464/kWh high/low peak (winter), base ~$0.03356-0.03798/kWh (verified)+ High-peak demand $9.70/kW and low-peak $3.30/kW (Jun-Sep); $4.30/kW high-peak (Oct-May) (verified) |
| A-4 Transmission Service (138 kV) | Industrial transmission | Largest industrial customers served from LADWP's 138 kV transmission system; facilities charge based on highest demand, min 10 MW. | Service charge + facilities charge per kW (min 10 MW) + TOU energy + demand charges by rating period. Plus adjustment factors. | Structure published; specific A-4 figures not captured in source — see tariff book+ Demand charge based on maximum demands within applicable rating periods; facilities charge per kW (min 10 MW) |
| XCD-2 / XCD-3 High-Load-Factor Contract Service | Special contract industrial | General service with average consumption exceeding 500,000 kWh/month, served from 4.8 kV (XCD-2) or 34.5 kV (XCD-3) systems. | Contract demand and energy charges; demand charge based on maximum demands within rating periods, not less than marginal demand costs for the contract period. | Negotiated/contract-based — see tariff book+ Per-kW demand charges by rating period, may vary by contract terms |
| EVA1/EVA2/EVA3 Commercial EV Charging Service | Commercial EV charging pilot | Commercial, industrial and nonprofit customers (on A-1/A-2/A-3) with a TOU meter dedicated to EV charging. No customer self-generation allowed. | TOU energy (Peak 4-9 PM weekdays) + monthly demand charge + annual demand charge; bundled base rates plus quarterly-recalculated pass-through factors. | TOU pilot rates — see special C&I rate page+ Annual demand charge (min 30 kW for EVA2/EVA3; 4 kW for EVA1) + monthly demand charge by TOU period |
Rate Recommendations by Use Case
C&I benchmarking & ESG compliance
Use the LADWP Web Services benchmarking program to feed aggregated monthly electric and water usage into ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager for EBEWE/AB 802 compliance and ESG reporting.
It is currently the only formal programmatic third-party data path at LADWP and is free.
- Obtain owner and tenant consent forms early
- Submit by March 1 for the current benchmarking deadline
- Have your BIN or CEC BRN ready
Demand charge reduction
Large C&I accounts should actively manage peak kW demand to reduce demand charges on LADWP's time-of-use industrial schedules.
Demand charges are a major cost component for large accounts and can be reduced through load staggering.
- Stagger equipment startups
- Investigate battery storage for peak shaving
- Review monthly demand peaks on each bill
Preparing for AMI interval data
Track LADWP's advanced metering rollout (begun Sept 2025) so you can adopt interval-based analytics as soon as the enhanced portal launches.
AMI will eventually unlock 15-minute data for finer TOU and demand optimization.
- Monitor the LADWP AMI webpage for portal feature announcements
- Ask LADWP commercial services about timeline for your meters
- Plan analytics tooling for CSV/JSON exports once available
Multi-site portfolio reporting
Facilities and sustainability teams managing multiple LA buildings should standardize on Portfolio Manager uploads to consolidate electric and water performance across the portfolio.
LADWP automatically pushes 5 years of monthly history per enrolled building, easing portfolio-wide tracking.
- Set up one virtual meter per service type per building
- Use a single Portfolio Manager account for the portfolio
- Coordinate owner/third-party access permissions
Historical Rate Trends
LADWP electric rates are set by the Los Angeles City Council through periodic Power System Rate Ordinances rather than by the CPUC. Rates rose modestly through the early 2020s, then accelerated as the utility funded its Power System Reliability Program (PSRP) and clean-energy transition.
Invalid Date
Average annual rate growth of roughly 3.7% per year over the period per the LA Office of Public Accountability
~3.7%/yrJanuary 1, 2025
Notable step-up in rates (about 11%) reflecting higher power-system operating and reliability costs
~11%July 1, 2025
FY2025-26 rate ordinance amendment raised the Reliability Cost Adjustment (RCA); residential median bill cited +~$0.01297/kWh, with comparable demand-based RCA increases for General Service
RCA increaseOverall trend: Increasing — roughly 3-4% per year average from 2019-2024, then a steeper jump (~11%) in 2025 and continued increases into 2026 driven largely by the Reliability Cost Adjustment (RCA).
Next expected change: Further increases expected via annual Power System Rate Ordinance / RCA amendments effective around July 1 each fiscal year (FY2025-26 amendment already raised reliability-related charges); customers should monitor LADWP rate ordinance updates.
Cost Optimization Strategies
Because LADWP C&I bills are heavily demand- and TOU-driven with quarterly pass-through factors, the largest savings come from managing peak demand, shifting load out of the summer high-peak window, and confirming correct schedule/voltage assignment.
Shift load out of High Peak hours
For: A-1 Rate B, A-2, A-3, A-4
Move discretionary load off the weekday 1-5 PM High Peak window (and out of the June-September high season) to Base periods where energy charges are lowest under Rate B / A-2 / A-3.
Manage peak demand (facilities + demand charges)
For: A-2, A-3, A-4
Facilities charges are set on the rolling 12-month peak and demand charges on monthly peaks; staggering equipment startup, peak-shaving and battery storage reduce both.
Verify correct schedule / service voltage
For: All C&I schedules
Taking service at higher voltage (A-3/A-4) where feasible, or right-sizing to A-1 if demand drops below 30 kW, can lower per-kWh and demand costs; LADWP reassigns based on demand.
Leverage EV charging and DER programs
For: Fleets, sites with on-site generation
Dedicated EV charging schedules (EVA1/2/3) and net energy metering / self-generation can shift cost structure; note self-generation is excluded under the EVA schedules.
To implement these strategies, you need your 15-minute interval data. Learn how to download Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) interval data →
Frequently Asked Questions
Can my business get interval (15-minute) electric data from LADWP today?▾
No. Interval data is not yet available. LADWP began deploying advanced meters in September 2025; interval data access through an enhanced portal is anticipated around 2026-2027. Until then, only monthly aggregate usage is available.
How can a consultant or energy manager access our LADWP usage data?▾
The only formal third-party path today is the LADWP Building Benchmarking program, which uploads aggregated monthly electric and water usage to ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager after the building owner submits authorization forms. There is no Green Button or EDI program.
Does LADWP support Green Button or an API for customer data?▾
No. LADWP has not implemented Green Button Download My Data or Connect My Data, and offers no customer-facing data API. Its Oracle Utilities platform could support these standards in the future, but nothing has been announced.
What rate schedules apply to commercial and industrial customers?▾
Small commercial accounts use a general service schedule, while larger accounts move to time-of-use schedules with energy and demand (kW) charges. Commercial accounts are billed monthly. Rates are set by the LA Board of Water and Power Commissioners, not the CPUC.
Can we choose a different electricity supplier in LADWP territory?▾
No. LADWP is a municipal utility and the sole electric provider in its territory. There is no retail supplier choice and no Community Choice Aggregation available.
How far back does LADWP billing history go online?▾
The portal shows the current bill plus prior billing periods (exact retention is not publicly specified). For data beyond roughly 2-3 years, contact LADWP customer service. Benchmarking enrollments receive 5 years of monthly history in Portfolio Manager.
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