LADWP solar programs in 2026: Solar Rooftops, Shared Solar and rebates for owners and renters

Every LADWP solar program, and who it is for

LADWP’s solar programs page lists seven programs (LADWP, checked September 23, 2026). Three matter to households: Solar Rooftops pays owner-occupants to host an LADWP-owned system, Shared Solar sells apartment and condo households solar power at a price fixed for 10 years, and SGIP funds solar and batteries for income-qualified customers. The rest serve property owners, developers or the city.

Is there an LADWP solar rebate?

Not on the current list. None of the programs on LADWP’s solar page is a rebate for a system you buy, finance or lease yourself. LADWP’s earlier Solar Incentive Program survives only in the fine print: Shared Solar excludes customers who took part in it, and the Solar Rooftops guidelines exclude customers enrolled in it or with an existing solar system. If a proposal includes an “LADWP rebate,” ask which program it means and ask for LADWP’s written approval.

A system you own connects under LADWP’s own net energy metering process: LADWP’s SGIP page sends applicants to ladwp.com/nem to start the interconnection study. The CPUC’s Net Billing Tariff, usually called NEM 3.0, covers PG&E, SCE and SDG&E customers (CPUC), not LADWP’s. How LADWP credits your exports, and what happens to leftover credit, is covered in LADWP net metering.

Solar Rooftops: LADWP rents your roof

LADWP inspects the home, designs a 1 to 10 kW system, pulls the permit from the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, installs it and connects it. Customers “receive fixed annual payments between $360–$900 depending on system size, for up to 20 years, totaling $7,200–$18,000.” LADWP “owns the system and receives all energy generated,” and pays “regardless of how much solar energy is produced.” The home must be owner-occupied, and LADWP says the program “shall at all times be subject to change or termination without notice” (LADWP, checked September 23, 2026).

The trade is roof space for a fixed payment; your electric bill does not change. What you give up, how selling the home works and how it compares with owning a system are in the full LADWP Solar Rooftops guide.

Shared Solar: a fixed price for apartment and condo households

Shared Solar lets residential customers in multifamily homes “fix a portion of their electric bill against rising utility costs for 10 years.” You subscribe to either 50 or 100 kWh a month from new solar plants in or near the LA basin, billed at the Shared Solar rate. LADWP says there are no enrollment fees, ongoing costs or maintenance costs, and that the subscription moves with you to another multifamily unit in LADWP territory (LADWP, checked September 23, 2026).

Read those together. In the third quarter of 2026, both Shared Solar rates were higher than the Tier 1 rate LADWP lists beside them, so subscribing did not lower that part of the bill then. What you buy is a price that stays fixed for 10 years while the regular rate can move. To qualify you need an LADWP account in good standing at a multifamily unit, on the R1A Standard Residential, R1D Low-Income or R1E Lifeline rate, and no past participation in the Solar Incentive program. Apply online through your LADWP account or by mail. Other options for tenants are in solar for renters in California.

SGIP through LADWP: income-qualified solar and batteries

LADWP administers the state’s Self-Generation Incentive Program for its customers. It describes SGIP as funding “for income qualified residential customers to install solar and battery storage systems.” There are two paths (LADWP, checked September 23, 2026):

• Single-family: total household income at or below 80% of area median income, shown with your most recent federal tax documents.
• Multifamily: at least five deed-restricted low-income rental units, and either a location in a disadvantaged community or Indian Country, or at least 80% of households at or below 60% of area median income.

Three cautions from LADWP’s page. After a February 20, 2026 CPUC ruling about high reported project costs in the Residential Solar and Storage Equity budget, LADWP requires extra cost documentation and may modify or cancel applications with unusually high costs. Being notified in LADWP’s SGIP lottery is not an award. And because of the waitlist and limited funding, LADWP says it is “unable to guarantee that customers on the waitlist will receive an incentive.” Applications go through the SGIP portal at selfgenca.com. Statewide category status is in the SGIP battery rebate guide.

Feed-in Tariff: selling all the power to LADWP

The Feed-in Tariff lets property owners and developers sell the output of local renewable projects directly to LADWP instead of using it on site, under a Standard Offer Power Purchase Agreement of no more than 20 years. The smallest size band is 30 kW, so it is a program for large roofs, carports and commercial property rather than a typical house. LADWP’s price for in-basin solar is 14.5¢ per kWh for 30 to 500 kW, 14.0¢ for over 500 kW to 3 MW and 13.5¢ above 3 MW. Of the program’s 235 MW, LADWP showed 57.8 MW available as of September 18, 2026 (LADWP). Businesses should start with commercial solar in California.

What LADWP electricity costs, for comparing any solar offer

A solar proposal is only as good as the rate it assumes you are replacing. On its Shared Solar page, LADWP lists the Standard Residential Tier 1 rate at $0.26408 per kWh for July to September 2026. Your bill may include higher tiers and other charges; the full rate structure is in LADWP electricity rates, and why an LADWP bill runs high walks through the usual causes. Programs in other territories are in PG&E’s solar programs and SMUD’s solar programs.

A referral request is optional and separate

California Rate Relief is a referral service. We are not a licensed contractor. We are not LADWP and do not run or decide eligibility for any LADWP program; apply through LADWP or the SGIP portal.