(1-3 minute read)
Today, the Office of Public Accountability (OPA) released a new report website and fact sheet examining customer experiences with utility affordability. Based on feedback gathered through community engagement events across Los Angeles, the report highlights a key finding: affordability is about more than the bill, and many Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) customers are looking for help.
Customers engaging with OPA over six in-person community-based sessions described a range of factors that can support affordability, including keeping bills low and being able to access assistance programs, having predictable bills and clear information, and meaningful opportunities to be heard. These perspectives provide insights into how affordability is experienced across Los Angeles and inform OPA's preliminary recommendations, which build upon LADWP’s ongoing efforts to support its customers.
Why OPA Conducted This Work
People across Los Angeles are facing the mounting challenge of balancing increasing costs in all areas of life, with those in the lowest income brackets facing the worst impacts. Since LADWP must continue making significant investments to manage the utility energy and water systems in the future, utility bill affordability is likely to remain an issue. For households, this translates into constrained monthly budgets, difficult tradeoffs between utility bills and other expenses, and the erosion of overall financial stability. OPA conducted this work to establish a better understanding of these challenges, with the goal of clearly communicating the implications on everyday Angelenos to city and utility leaders.
Although affordability is often discussed through the lens of rates and bills, OPA sought to better understand how customers experience barriers to overcoming affordability challenges in practice, and what factors shape those experiences.
What Customers Told Us
Across communities, customers consistently expressed a desire for predictable bills, clearer information about costs and usage, easier access to assistance programs, and meaningful opportunities to participate in decisions that affect them. Customer feedback underscores an important takeaway: affordability depends on the conditions that support it.
Supporting affordability requires more than a single program, policy, or rate action. Since customers experience affordability challenges differently, and barriers often extend beyond utility rates alone, the takeaway from customer engagement was that a systematic approach that considers customer experience alongside rates and bills is needed.
Recommendations for Supporting Affordability
Based on community feedback and OPA’s analysis, the report presents six preliminary recommendations:
- Modern Rate Design: Pursue comprehensive electricity rate reform to support a utility wide approach to affordability.
- Smart Meters and Customer Tools: Treat advanced metering as a customer-first investment.
- Clearer Bills and Communications: Make bills and communications easier to understand and act upon.
- Simplified Access to Programs and Assistance: Reduce barriers to enrollment and assistance.
- Stronger Community Partnerships: Deepen collaboration with community and government partners.
- Participatory Decision-Making: Create meaningful opportunities for customer input.
Together, these recommendations are intended to build upon LADWP's ongoing efforts to support affordability, accessibility, and a better customer experience.
Using Community Input to Inform Our Work
Ratepayer input is central to OPA's mission and will continue to inform its analysis, advocacy, and recommendations. This report is intended to support an informed conversation about utility affordability and help ensure that customer perspectives remain central to decisions about the future of water and power service in Los Angeles. Visit the report website or download the fact sheet to learn more.