By Evan Magallanes
5-7 minute read
At the Office of Public Accountability (OPA), we use technical analysis—such as budget reviews, rate analyses, and program evaluations—to hold the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) accountable for delivering transparent, affordable, and reliable service. Equally important is hearing directly from customers. OPA answers questions, identifies and helps resolve concerns, and advocates on their behalf.
Ratepayers contact OPA by phone, email, mail, in person, and through the OPA Ratepayer Contact Form. Between July 2025 and June 2026, our office collected and analyzed 100 distinct customer inquiries. These inquiries provide valuable insights into the challenges customers experience and form the basis for OPA's five recommendations to strengthen the LADWP customer experience.
As OPA’s public visibility grows through expanded outreach and community engagement, we anticipate continued growth in customer inquiries. Working closely with LADWP’s Customer Relations Office allows OPA to help resolve individual customer concerns while identifying broader patterns and recurring issues. These insights strengthen our technical analysis and help identify opportunities to improve the customer experience for all ratepayers.
What We Found
For a full breakdown of trends by customer group and by issue area, use the Power BI dashboard below:
Of the 100 inquiries received, customer profiles broke down as follows: 44 homeowners, 28 renters, and 18 business owners. Ten records could not be assigned a specific customer profile.
Fig. 1: Customer submissions received by LADWP service and customer type (blank responses omitted)
Most customer inquiries (78 of 100) were received in 2026, with April 2026 as the single busiest month at 19 customer inquiries. The increase aligns with OPA’s increased community presence following the launch of in-person listening sessions in February and the rhythm of LADWP’s bi-monthly billing cycle. Customer contact volume rose consistently in the months following billing issuances in December 2025, February 2026, and April 2026, a pattern that points to billing as one underlying driver.
Fig. 2: Customer issue categories by month, June ’25-June ‘26
The data on customer issue areas explains why. Billing and payment disputes were the most common challenge across every customer type, cited by 25 homeowners, 18 renters, and 11 business owners (2 submissions did not include a customer profile). Meter-related concerns and LADWP customer programs accounted for 15 and 12 contacts, respectively, rounding out the top three issue categories.
Fig. 3: Ratepayer submissions by issue category
LADWP operates two types of utility service: power and water. Across all customer inquiries, issues related directly to power service were cited by half of all respondents. Most concerns fell within billing/cost challenges or power delivery. Where customers referenced power meter-related challenges, those were classified directly as a meter issue.
Homeowners also reported water service issues at a higher rate (37%) than renters (17.8%), which is expected given that most multi-residential properties in Los Angeles are master-metered.
Fig. 4: Customer submissions by issue category and customer profile
Key Themes and Recommendations
While no two customer inquiries were identical, clear patterns emerged across customer groups and issue types. These patterns form the basis for OPA’s five recommendations:
Rule 17 ambiguity and language access.
A significant number of billing and meter issues referenced LADWP’s Rule 17—the provision within the Rules Governing Water and Electric Service (Rules) that governs meter testing and bill adjustments for meter and utility errors. Several customers cited unclear or inconsistent applications of the rule. Compounding the issue is the fact that within the Rule 17 document, key terms and procedures are either hard to find or are unavailable, making it difficult for customers to understand how adjustments are calculated.
- RECOMMENDATION 1: The Rules have not been updated since October 2008. OPA recommends that LADWP improve the clarity and accessibility of Rule 17’s language by including plain-language definitions and guidance.
- RECOMMENDATION 2: Given the ambiguity cited by LADWP customers, OPA recommends that the utility provide a plain-language explanation, in both digital and paper formats, to customers receiving back-billing adjustments that clearly explains the applicable policy being applied and possible recourse, either through a formal review of their account or through LADWP’s assistance programs like LevelPay.
Customers also identified that key documents are only available in English, or hard to find in other languages.
- RECOMMENDATION 3: Given the diverse customer base, OPA recommends that LADWP designate the Department’s Rules Governing Water and Electric Service as a “vital document” under the City’s Language Access Plan, ensuring multilingual translations are available in all tier-1 languages.
Navigating LADWP’s customer service numbers and prioritizing customer-centric design.
Across issue types and customer classes, a common customer challenge emerged: ratepayers struggled to either find the right person at LADWP or found the multiple layers of utility contacts hard to navigate. Some described a sense of helplessness as they navigated between LADWP offices, often over several calls. Those customers that contacted OPA usually did so because this challenge resulted in lack of timely resolution, confusion, or overall frustration with the process.
- RECOMMENDATION 4: Given the extent and breadth of programs and customer issues to navigate, OPA recommends that LADWP minimize the number of different phone numbers customers need to call, prioritizing the primary Customer Contact Center number at 800-DIAL-DWP wherever possible.
- RECOMMENDATION 5: OPA strongly supports LADWP’s ongoing infrastructure modernization efforts, specifically its plan to upgrade the Customer Service Integrated Voice Response (IVR) system as outlined in LADWP’s 2023–2026 Strategic Plan, and the consolidation of customer data and tracking into a single, high-quality Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool, as recommended by the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation in July 2025. OPA recommends pairing these systems with robust employee training to maximize data collection, accelerate issue resolution, and support long-term equity tracking.
Where We Go from Here
The 100 customer inquiries documented here are not just a dataset. They represent a feedback loop that OPA believes is essential to improving LADWP’s service to its ratepayers. These insights help highlight where ratepayers need specific help or where the customer engagement system needs refinement.
OPA will continue to meet Angelenos where they are. Through our contact form, community events, and direct outreach, we will continue to track and assess customer concerns on an annual basis. We will also continue to press for the improvements identified here: clearer billing communications, accessible rules, and a more navigable customer service experience at LADWP.
We also acknowledge that OPA can improve its own processes and procedures going forward. In our first year collecting direct constituent feedback, OPA identified areas of improvement, including enhancing data quality, centralizing customer intake processes, expanding multilingual outreach, and automating portions of the customer submission workflow to ensure timelier resolution and an overall improved experience for ratepayers.
Affordable, reliable water and power is essential for every Angeleno. Helping ensure LADWP meets that expectation for renters, homeowners, and business owners alike is why this work matters.