Solar Companies in Los Angeles, CA: Installer Counts and License Checks

Installers who connected the most home solar systems on SCE-served Los Angeles addresses in 2025

Counts from utility records, not a ranking or endorsement. Check each license's status and complaint history on the CSLB's Check a License page (checked Sept. 24, 2026). These are SCE customers whose service address the utility lists under Los Angeles; LADWP customers are not in the data.

Source: California Distributed Generation Statistics (CPUC), Interconnected Project Sites data set, data through May 31, 2026 (checked Sept. 24, 2026).

Home solar on SCE-served Los Angeles addresses by the numbers

SCE approved 267 home solar systems at SCE-served addresses listed as Los Angeles in 2025, from 73 installers; the top three were named on 42% of them. The busiest year since 2021 was 2023, with 385 (2025: -31%). Another 148 were approved from January through May 2026.

2025 mix: 51% leased or on a power purchase agreement, 49% owned by the household; 73% with a battery; median size 5.26 kW DC.

Hiring a solar company in Los Angeles

In the City of Los Angeles, a solar company's work runs through two local offices: LADBS, which issues Express Permits online to contractors for rooftop systems of 10 kW or less on one- and two-family homes, and LADWP, whose own net energy metering rider decides how your exports are credited. LADWP also offers Solar Rooftops, where it owns the panels and pays you for the roof. Weigh that against at least three written bids.

Start with your Los Angeles electricity bill

Confirm whether the bill is from LADWP or another electric utility. LADWP publishes its own net energy metering rules. Do not apply the PG&E/SCE/SDG&E Net Billing Tariff to an LADWP account, or assume every Los Angeles County address has LADWP.

LADWP sets its own solar rules

Los Angeles is not PG&E, SCE or SDG&E territory for most addresses, so the statewide Net Billing Tariff that governs those three utilities does not describe an LADWP bill. LADWP credits customer-owned solar under its Net Energy Metering rider, in effect since September 1, 2008, for systems up to one megawatt. The rider measures electricity in both directions and bills the net amount when you draw more from the grid than you send back over the billing period.

The California Energy Commission's service-territory map puts about nine-tenths of the land inside the city boundary in LADWP territory and shows Southern California Edison along parts of the edge. If your bill comes from SCE, this section does not apply to you: ask for a proposal built on SCE's rules instead, and read the utility name on the bill before trusting any savings figure.

Two LADWP options that are not a solar company quote

Solar Rooftops is LADWP's program for owner-occupied homes on residential schedules R1-A, R1-B, R1-D or R1-E. LADWP inspects the roof and shading, designs a 1 to 10 kW system, pulls the LADBS permit and installs it. LADWP owns the panels and keeps all of the energy; you receive a fixed annual payment of $360 to $900 depending on system size, for up to 20 years, whatever the panels produce. LADWP puts the total at $7,200 to $18,000.

That is a roof lease, not a way to lower your own bill with your own power, so it answers a different question from buying or leasing a system from a company. Shared Solar is the other option: it lets residents of apartments, condominiums and duplexes fix part of their electric bill for 10 years without a system on their own roof. If a company's proposal does not beat what one of these programs offers you, that is worth knowing before you sign.

What an LADBS Express Permit covers

LADBS Information Bulletin P/GI 2026-003, effective January 1, 2026, lets licensed contractors pull a solar permit online without plan check when the system is rooftop-mounted on a one- or two-family dwelling, totals 10 kW or less, runs on a 120/240-volt single-phase service with a panel rated no more than 225 amps, and uses no more than two string inverters with four strings each, or microinverters on up to four branch circuits. Building-integrated panels and hybrid systems do not qualify, and a separate building permit may be needed for the structural support.

A battery added to that system can also go through the online path if it is AC-coupled, rated no more than 10 kW AC and tied to the same size of service panel. Anything larger or more complex goes to plan check, which adds time. Ask each bidder which path its design uses and why.

What a Los Angeles quote needs to explain

A comparison to ask for

If a salesperson uses an SCE export-credit assumption for your LADWP bill, ask for a corrected comparison before judging the price. Identify the actual meter, tariff and billing period first.

Verify the company behind the Los Angeles quote

Match the business name and license number on each Los Angeles proposal to the CSLB record, then use our contractor verification steps, the quote comparison guide and the PPA, loan, lease and cash comparison.

Permit fees and the filing route are on the Los Angeles solar cost and permit page.

Los Angeles solar quote questions