With electricity prices on the rise and extreme weather events increasing the need for electricity, understanding how your electric rates work is crucial to lowering your electricity costs.

Homeowners serviced by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) have two residential rate schedules to choose from, with electric rates ranging from 22 cents to 37 cents per kWh in 2025.

In this article, we’ll explore:

• LADWP’s Standard rate plan
• LADWP’s Time-of-Use rate plan
• EV charging rates
• Net metering for solar customers
• The history of LADWP rate increases
• Frequently asked questions

Let’s start with the standard rate schedule and then see how time-of-use rates compare.

If you’re unhappy with your electricity bill, connect with an Energy Advisor to design a solar system to reduce your energy costs.

LADWP Standard Residential Rates (R-1A) in 2025

The R-1A plan is a tiered rate schedule in which electricity charges vary based on your consumption throughout the billing period. It’s important to note that LADWP bills on a bi-monthly basis, so each billing period is two months.

The idea behind tiered rates is that everyone is allotted a certain amount of electricity at a low price for essential needs like lighting, internet, refrigeration, and climate control. But the more electricity you use, the more expensive it gets, especially in the summer.

LADWP’s R-1A rates are divided into three tiers, with the cheapest electricity in Tier 1 and the most expensive in Tier 3. In April-May of 2025, rates range from 23 cents in Tier 1 to nearly 29 cents in Tiers 2 & 3 — that’s a 12-15% increase from the same period last year.

LADWP standard electric rate increases 2025

Each tier has an allotted amount of electricity based on your temperature zone, shown in the map below. Zone 1 represents cooler coastal areas and therefore has less usage allotted for each tier. Zone 2 represents hotter inland areas and therefore has more usage allotted for each tier.

LADWP Rate Tiers (based on bi-monthly consumption)

Bi-monthly tiers as of May 2025. Subject to change.

The average daily electricity consumption in California is 18 kWh, which would be 1,080 kWh over a 60-day billing period. So, in a typical month, customers can expect to consume all of their Tier 1 electricity and dip into Tier 2.

However, consumption is typically much higher in the summer as warmer temperatures and heat waves increase the need for air conditioning.

Running central A/C for 12 hours could add more than 2,000 kWh to your bi-monthly consumption. So, AC usage alone can put LADWP customers into Tier 3 rates, which are over 37 cents per kWh in June 2025.

LADWP Tiered Rates – June 2025

Based on rates posted by LADWP as of May 2025.

Under LADWP’s Standard Residential Rate schedule, the name of the game is simply to use as little electricity as possible to avoid buying it at Tier 2 and Tier 3 rates. But, for many people, this is easier said than done. Households with higher consumption and the ability to control when they use that electricity may benefit from LADWP’s Time-of-Use (TOU) rates.

LADWP’s Time-of-Use Residential Rate (R1-B) in 2025

Under LADWP’s R1-B plan, your rates vary by time of day instead of how much electricity you use during the billing cycle. These rates also change by season, with substantially higher rates in summer than fall, winter, and spring.

In June 2025, LADWP TOU rates range from 23 cents to 31 cents per kWh during peak hours and are 11-16% higher than at the same time last year. The R-1B plan comes with a $12 per month service charge, and the TOU rate schedule is divided into three periods, as shown below.

For homeowners, the value of TOU rates is the opportunity to save money by shifting some of their usage from High Peak hours to Base and Low Peak hours. This load shift from peak to off-peak periods helps grid operators — like LADWP — maintain reliable service during high-demand events, namely heat waves, when everyone is running their AC at the same time.

What is the cheapest time of day to use electricity at LADWP?

The cheapest time of day to use electricity for LADWP TOU customers is between 8 pm and 9 am during the weekdays and any time during the weekends. This is known as the Base Period, when electricity is 11-40% cheaper than the Low Peak and High Peak periods.

This is the ideal time to run large electricity loads like air conditioning, electric heat, and EV charging. In fact, LADWP offers a discount for customers who charge their EV during Base hours.

LADWP EV charging rates

LADWP customers with EV chargers installed in their homes can receive a $0.025 rate discount for charging their EV during Base Period hours, according to LADWP. However, there are a few things to note about this discount:

• Your EV charger must be on a separate meter from your main meter
• The EV meter must be on a TOU rate
• There is a minimum monthly charge of $10 plus adjustment charges

So, in order to break even on the $10 monthly charge, you’d need to charge your EV with at least 400 kWh of electricity per month during base hours to break even. With an EV getting 3.5 miles per kWh, that means driving at least 47 miles per day (10 more miles per day than the national average).

So, if you have an especially long commute or a bunch of kids to chauffeur around, setting up a separate meter to get the EV charging discount can be worthwhile. However, if you don’t travel very far then you may want to go solar to reduce the cost of charging your EV.

LADWP rates and home solar

LADWP offers net metering for customers who own solar systems (it does not apply to leases and power purchase agreements). Under net metering, solar owners are compensated at near-retail rates for the excess electricity their systems push onto the electricity grid during the day.

So, a home solar system designed to offset 100% of your electricity use can also offset up to 100% of your LADWP bill, aside from fixed basic charges.

According to LADWP’s website, “the customer shall be billed for the net energy supplied under the customer’s currently applicable rate,” which seems to imply that solar owners can use either rate plan (Standard or TOU).

This is a stark contrast to NEM 3.0 solar billing adopted by California’s investor-owned utilities (IOU) in April 2023, in which solar owners are compensated well below retail rates for their excess production. This makes it virtually impossible to achieve a 100% bill offset with a solar-only system, although it may be achieved by pairing solar with battery storage.

LADWP electric rate increase history

As with all utilities – public or private – electricity rates tend to go up over time, and LADWP is no exception. The big question is how fast are rates rising?

From 2019 to 2024, LADWPs Tier 1 rates increased by ~3.7% per year, on average. In 2025, they jumped 11%.

What does that mean?

• Zone 1: You’ll pay an additional $97 per year for your Tier 1 usage
• Zone 2: You’ll pay $138 more per year for your Tier 1 usage.

LADWP TOUs rates have also been on a steady upward march, with base rates increasing ~4% per year from 2019-2024, and jumping 11% in 2025.

In 2025, a TOU customer using 700 kWh per month during Base Hours only would pay $185 more per year than they did in 2024.

Lower your electricity costs with home solar

Electricity is an essential good and something most people are going to pay for one way or another throughout their lives. While LADWP offers relatively low electric rates and a TOU rate plan with High Peak pricing that’s easy to avoid, grid electricity is still incredibly expensive compared to home solar.

Better yet, as a public utility, LADWP still offers net metering to its customers instead of the less favorable NEM 3.0 solar billing policy adopted by the IOUs in April 2023.

Connect with an Energy Advisor to see how far you can reduce your electricity costs with home solar.

FAQs

What are the peak hours for LADWP electric rates?

High Peak hours in LADWP’s TOU rate plan are 1 pm to 4:59 pm, when electricity is around 40% higher than Base hours and 25% higher than Low Peak hours.

For example, in June 2025, High Peak rates are over 31 cents per kWh for time-of-use customers while Base Rates are 23 cents per kWh.

Fortunately, LADWP’s outdated High Peak window is rather early in the day, when many people are still at work or school.

What is the difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 energy in LADWP?

The difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 energy in LADWP is the cost per kWh for electricity. For example, in June 2025, the cost of Tier 1 electricity is 23per kWh while the cost of Tier 2 electricity is 29 cents per kWh. These rates change throughout the season and peak in the summer months of July-September.

The tiers are based on household electricity consumption and temperature zones. For example, if you live in Zone 1, your first 700 kWh per bi-monthly billing cycle are charged at Tier 1 rates and your next 1,400 kWh are charged at Tier 2 rates.

If you surpass your Tier 1 and Tier 2 allotments (2,100 kWh for Zone 1) you are then charged Tier 3 rates, which are over 37 cents per kWh in June 2025.

How much does LADWP charge per kWh?

As of June 2025, LADWP charges between 20 and 37 cents per kWh of electricity, depending on your rate schedule. Electricity rates typically increase in the summer, with Tier 3 rates higher than 37 cents per kWh in June 2025.

For reference, the average utility rate in the US is around 17 cents per kWh.