Customers are eager to enroll in programs but are sometimes stalled by uncertainty about what exists, whether they qualify, and how to navigate burdensome applications. Renters face an additional structural layer of exclusion from programs designed around homeownership. However, programs like sewer and trash categorical discounts, Lifeline discount and utility user tax exemptions, and the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) show that categorical enrollment, application consolidation, and other enrollment improvements are feasible. These streamlined enrollment processes also present the opportunity to help reduce administrative costs and free up resources to help staff continue to improve the customer experience in other ways.
Opportunities for LADWP to consider:
- Expand categorical enrollment and auto-recertification pathways that connect customers to assistance through programs they already participate in (e.g., CalFresh, Medi-Cal, CalWORKs) or through affordable housing status (e.g., Section 8, public housing), rather than requiring separate applications, with a reasonable program to audit the legitimacy of enrollments to protect ratepayers’ interests
- Move toward a unified and/or consolidated application for select programs (illustrative examples include the Senior Citizen / Disability Lifeline Rate, Physicians Certified Allowance Discount and the Life Support Equipment Discount)
- Support omni-channel enrollment (phone, online, in-person, paper), including the ability for Customer Service Representatives to start, and where possible, complete applications over the phone
- Within legal parameters, reduce the upfront cost barrier that keeps lower- and moderate-income customers out of efficiency and conservation programs, so that participation does not depend on having capital on hand (illustrative examples include on-bill financing, point-of-sale rebates, and partnerships with community lenders offering low- or -no cost financing).
- Develop renter-specific program pathways, including incentives tied to tenants rather than properties and landlord pre-approval mechanisms, and expanded shared solar and community solar access