Do I still need a battery as an LADWP customer?

It's a genuine choice rather than a necessity. Because LADWP's net energy metering still credits exported energy at your rate schedule's pricing, panels alone still pencil well — unlike NEM 3.0 territory, where a battery is close to mandatory for the math to work. A battery on LADWP earns its keep three ways: backup power when the grid drops, covering the evening hours on the time-of-use rate after solar production winds down, and keeping more of your energy on-site given that LADWP bill credits offset energy charges (not taxes or minimum charges) and any remaining credit balance is zeroed out if you ever close the account.

Who handles the LADBS permit and the LADWP interconnection?

We do — both agencies, end-to-end. In the City of Los Angeles your project runs through two separate pipelines: the building and electrical permit through LADBS (the city's Department of Building and Safety), and the interconnection through LADWP Service Planning. We prepare and submit the LADBS permit, build to code, coordinate inspection, submit the LADWP interconnection paperwork, and track the project through LADWP's final utility approval so your system can legally operate.

What LADWP rate plan should a solar customer be on?

LADWP residential customers choose between the Standard Residential Rate (R-1A), which is tiered by usage, zone, and season, and the Time-of-Use Residential Rate (R-1B), which prices power by time of day. LADWP's own rate guidance flags solar customers who consistently bank solar credits as good candidates for the TOU rate. The right answer depends on your usage pattern and system size — we model both rates against your actual consumption before you commit.

Rooftop solar panels among palm trees under a blue Los Angeles sky

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Solar & battery for LADWP customers

LADWP is a municipal utility with its own rules — including a net energy metering rider that still credits the solar you export at your rate schedule's energy pricing, unlike the NEM 3.0 net billing next door in SCE territory. Here's how LA's utility actually bills solar homes, and how to design for it.

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How LADWP bills you in 2026

A municipal utility that plays by its own rules

LADWP rates are set by Los Angeles city ordinance, not the CPUC — so almost everything you've read about California solar billing applies differently here. Three things define an LADWP solar bill.

Tiered standard rate (R-1A)

The default LADWP rate bills in three usage tiers that reset by season (high season June–September) and by temperature zone. A separate Power Access Charge — a fixed monthly charge set by your highest usage month over the past year — rides on top.

Optional time-of-use rate (R-1B)

LADWP's TOU rate prices power by time of day: High Peak on weekday afternoons (1:00–4:59 PM), Low Peak mid-morning and early evening, and a cheap Base period overnight and on weekends. LADWP itself flags solar customers who bank credits as good TOU candidates.

Real net metering — not NEM 3.0

As a municipal utility, LADWP is not under the CPUC's NEM 3.0 net-billing tariff. Its own Net Energy Metering rider nets your kilowatt-hours each billing period and credits excess generation using your rate schedule's energy pricing, rolling credit balances into later bills.

Exact per-kWh prices live in LADWP's published Schedule R-1 and change by ordinance; rate structure described here per LADWP's residential rate and net-metering pages (accessed July 22, 2026).

Where a battery fits

On LADWP, a battery is a choice — not a rescue

In SCE territory, NEM 3.0 makes storage nearly mandatory. LADWP's net metering still values your exports, so the battery question is about evenings, outages, and keeping energy on-site.

Panels alone still pencil. Exported kWh earn a credit at your rate schedule's energy pricing and roll forward on your bill — so right-sizing the array to your usage matters more than storage-first design.
Cover the evening on TOU. LADWP's weekday High Peak (1:00–4:59 PM) largely overlaps solar production, but the 5:00–7:59 PM Low Peak lands after panels wind down — stored solar carries your home through it. And bill credits offset energy charges only, with any balance zeroed if you close the account, so self-consumed energy is never left on the table.
Backup when the grid drops. A Tesla Powerwall 3 delivers 13.5 kWh usable and 11.5 kW continuous output, with native solar integration managed in the Tesla app and a roughly 10-year warranty.

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Tesla Powerwall battery installed at a home on LADWP service

Two agencies, one project

LADBS permits and LADWP interconnection, handled together

In the City of LA, your permit and your interconnection run through two separate agencies — and projects stall when nobody owns the handoff. We own both sides from application to the day your system legally turns on.

LADBS permit

City of LA building and electrical permits run through LADBS. Simple projects that don't require plan check are issued online as Express Permits, and LADBS publishes solar-specific standard plans and plan-check correction lists. We prepare, submit, and track it.

LADWP interconnection

LADWP Service Planning reviews the interconnection. Typical home systems of 10 kW or less need no interconnection-agreement form and are eligible for photo inspection; larger systems sign LADWP's customer-generation interconnection agreement. We handle the paperwork either way.

Final utility approval

LADWP provides the bidirectional metering and signs off before your system legally operates under the net-metering rider. We coordinate inspection across both agencies and report on the timeline so your project never stalls between LADBS and LADWP.

Comparing installers for a City of LA project? See how we work in Los Angeles — or a completed LA solar + Powerwall 3 project on LADWP service. Licensed C-46 solar contractor — CSLB #1023627. Verify our license anytime, or call 949-427-8817.

LADWP solar programs

Which LADWP program actually applies to you

LADWP runs a family of solar programs. For a homeowner putting panels on their own roof, only one of them is the main event — but it's worth knowing what the others are.

Net Energy Metering

The path for homeowners who install their own rooftop system — up to 1 MW of customer-owned solar, netted on your bill each period. This is the program the rest of this page is about.

Self-Generation Incentive Program (SGIP)

A State of California incentive program, administered for LADWP customers, that funds solar and battery storage for income-qualified households. Funding is limited and not guaranteed — we'll flag it if your household qualifies.

Shared Solar

For renters in multifamily buildings: subscribe to LADWP solar and fix a portion of your electric bill for 10 years — no rooftop system required.

Solar Rooftops & Feed-in Tariff

Solar Rooftops expands access for qualified residential customers who can't fund an installation, and the Feed-in Tariff lets property owners sell a project's full output to LADWP rather than offsetting their own usage.

Program descriptions per LADWP's official Solar Programs pages (accessed July 22, 2026). Program terms, eligibility, and funding are set by LADWP and can change.

See your numbers

Estimate your LADWP solar savings

Enter your address and roughly what you pay LADWP each month for an instant, no-obligation estimate. It's a starting point — we confirm everything with a real site review.

LADWP customer FAQ

Common questions from DWP customers

No. NEM 3.0 (the net-billing tariff) applies to California's investor-owned utilities — SCE, PG&E, and SDG&E — under a CPUC decision. LADWP is a municipal utility governed by Los Angeles city ordinance, and it applies its own published Net Energy Metering rider instead: your meter nets kilowatt-hours over the billing period, and if you generate more than you use, the excess is credited using your rate schedule's energy pricing and applied to subsequent bills. That is a fundamentally better export deal than NEM 3.0 — and a key reason system design in LADWP territory differs from the rest of Southern California.

Sources (all accessed July 22, 2026): LADWP Solar Programs, LADWP Net Energy Metering rider (EV/NEM/REO Rates), LADWP Residential Electric Rates, LADWP Interconnection Requirements, LADWP Self-Generation Incentive Program, and LADBS Express Permits.

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