With less than two weeks until Angelenos head to the polls, soaring Los Angeles Department of Water and Power bills have taken center stage in the contentious mayoral race, putting pressure on both candidates to offer solutions.
On Tuesday, Mayor Karen Bass announced that she had ordered LADWP to pause all shutoffs through the end of the year as residents face high utility costs amid record-breaking heat waves across the city.
Bass also said that beginning in November, LADWP must provide residents with information about their electricity and water usage to help them conserve resources and lower their bills.
“Angelenos need swift relief, and I am taking concrete action to provide it,” the mayor said. “No Angeleno should have to choose between staying cool and paying their bills. I’m committed to making sure that never happens.”
Councilmember Nithya Raman, who was polling ahead of Bass in September, has proposed a broader plan.
If elected, Raman said she would pursue a three-point plan that includes auditing LADWP in coordination with City Controller Kenneth Mejia, reviewing executive pay, requiring LADWP officials to appear before the City Council to publicly explain rate increases, and repairing and modernizing the utility’s infrastructure.
“The public deserves transparency about the cost that they are experiencing,” Raman said. “They deserve a public justification of these enormous costs. They deserve a justification for every dollar that is being spent.”
Los Angeles resident and former UCLA football player Micah Reed drew widespread attention after posting a $3,322.01 LADWP bill on TikTok. The post received more than 200,000 views.
Reed told Los Angeles Magazine that he has heard both Raman’s and Bass’ proposals but has yet to hear a solution he believes will benefit Los Angeles residents.
“[Raman] was on the city council – why didn’t she ever do that before and speak out publicly against the LADWP?” Reed said. “And then Karen Bass, I feel like she’s perpetuating the problem with her solution in the sense that people are just going to drive themselves further into debt.”
Reed said he worries that when residents’ next bills come due in January 2027, many Angelenos will be pushed further into debt.
Since the summer of 2025, Reed said, his own LADWP bill has increased nearly 25%, from $2,658.77 in 2025 to $3,322.01 during the same time this year. Raman has separately claimed that LADWP bills have risen more than 40% under Bass.
Raman has also criticized what she describes as “hidden fees.” Reed pointed to charges such as the Capped Renewable Portfolio Standard Energy Adjustment and the Energy Cost Adjustment, which appear on LADWP customer bills.
LADWP disputed the characterization of its rate adjustments as “hidden fees” to Los Angeles, saying the charges are authorized under a rate ordinance approved by the City Council. The utility said adjustment factors are designed to recover specific costs and are subject to review by the City Attorney, the Office of Public Accountability and the Board of Water and Power Commissioners. The City Council retains ultimate authority over actions approved by city boards and commissions, according to LADWP.
Credit: Courtesy of the Los Angeles Department of Water and PowerIn response to questions about Raman’s claim that rates have risen approximately 40%, LADWP pointed to the residential Tier 1 electricity rate, which increased from 18.857 cents per kilowatt-hour in January 2023 to approximately 27.29 cents per kilowatt-hour, an increase of about 45%. The utility said the increase amounts to an average of about 2 cents per year over four years.
LADWP also said electricity usage was up 20% across its two most recent available months of billing data, potentially contributing to higher bills during Los Angeles’ hottest summer on record.
“LADWP remains committed to transparency throughout the rate-setting process, which includes review by multiple independent oversight entities and opportunities for public review consistent with the adopted rate ordinance and applicable City processes,” the department said.
Despite the department’s assurances, Reed said he remains unconvinced that LADWP is being transparent with ratepayers.
“It’s becoming very, very expensive,” Reed said. “It’s already super expensive to live in Los Angeles, and when you throw utilities into the mix … I’ve paid LADWP more this year in utility bills than I have in property tax, which to me just seems insane.”
With the mayoral race nearing its conclusion, Reed said he feels neither candidate offers the change he wants to see in Los Angeles. Bass and Raman are both Democrats who have previously aligned on several issues before emerging as political opponents.
“I’m staying apolitical on this, but it does make it a little bit difficult because I can’t really get behind either of them,” Reed said.
Regardless of who wins, he said, he plans to continue pushing for greater affordability and accountability.
“We are going to continue to push and hold whichever one of them is accountable to to try and help us and make change,” Reed said. “We want them to help us and we want to work with them because one of them is going to be in charge.”
Reed has created a Change.org petition calling for an independent LADWP audit and other transparency measures. He plans to attend Tuesday’s LADWP Board of Commissioners meeting to present the petition and is encouraging Angelenos concerned about rising utility costs to attend.
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