Locations and Participant Demographics
OPA selected six community sites across Los Angeles to reach diverse participants who would most likely be impacted by utility costs. OPA aimed to host these sessions in trusted community spaces to reduce participation barriers and encourage candid discussion.
Listening Sessions
- Pacoima: The Boys & Girls Club of San Fernando Valley
- West Adams: First African Methodist Episcopal Church (First AME - L.A.)
- Boyle Heights: Dolores Mission Church
Solution Summits
- Wilmington: Wilmington Recreation Center
- North Hollywood: St. Anne Banquet Hall
- Lincoln Heights: Lincoln Heights Senior Center
Workshop engagement started at the end of 2025 and included contacting Council District Offices, meeting with and providing materials to community based organizations, distributing flyers through local school programs in the targeted neighborhoods, and digitally promoting events.
Together, 97 individuals participated in the Listening Sessions and 60 individuals participated in the Solutions Summits. The majority of participants were residential customers. OPA intends to continue community engagement, and expand outreach to small business owners and multi-family property owners, in addition to residential customers going forward.
Meeting Design
To help ensure the sessions were understandable and relevant, OPA tailored its approach to match the specific needs of each neighborhood. In areas where Spanish or Armenian are primary languages, interpreters were integrated into the sessions to remove communication barriers so that residents could participate in their preferred language. Participants could also join sessions anonymously and decline nametags. These elements sought to allow participants to candidly share insights on sensitive topics such as billing stress, program enrollment challenges, or assistance needs. The combination of structured stations and storytelling allowed OPA deeper insight into LADWP’s customers’ experiences.
Value of Qualitative Engagement and its Limitations
The total number of participants represented a small portion of LADWP’s overall customer base, and were largely residential customers. Therefore, this report does not intend to portray results as statistically representative of LADWP’s entire ratepayer population. Rather, this report presents qualitative findings to highlight recurring themes and identify areas where additional analysis, customer education, or operational improvements can help LADWP customers. The Listening Sessions and Solutions Summits offer a foundation for understanding how customers experience LADWP’s policies, programs, and communications in practice, and help identify opportunities to support the broader customer base.