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Who Provides Electricity in Los Angeles County
If you live in the City of Los Angeles, your electricity comes from LADWP, the city-owned Department of Water and Power. Most of the rest of the county is Southern California Edison territory, and Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank and a few smaller cities run their own utilities. Which one serves your address sets your rates, your bill and the solar rules that apply.
Updated September 23, 2026. Provider areas from the California Energy Commission; rates and bill estimates from the CPUC Public Advocates Office and the utilities. California Rate Relief is a referral service. We are not a licensed contractor.
Electricity providers in Los Angeles County
The California Energy Commission maps every utility's service territory. Laid over the county boundary, its layers (queried September 23, 2026) show these providers:
| Provider | Type | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Southern California Edison (SCE) | Investor-owned utility | Most of the county: about 74% of its area on the CEC map |
| Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) | City-owned utility | The City of Los Angeles: about 10% of county area |
| Glendale Water & Power, Pasadena Water and Power, Burbank Water and Power | City-owned utilities | Their own cities |
| Vernon, Azusa, Cerritos, City of Industry | City-owned utilities | Parts of those cities |
| Clean Power Alliance, Lancaster Energy, Energy for Palmdale’s Independent Choice, Pomona Choice Energy, Pico Rivera Innovative Municipal Energy | Community choice providers (generation only) | Member cities inside SCE territory; SCE still delivers |
A community choice provider buys the power but does not own the wires: in its member cities SCE still delivers the electricity and sends one bill with both sets of charges. The Energy Commission's map also shows SCE along parts of the City of Los Angeles boundary, so an LA mailing address is not proof of an LADWP account. Source: California Energy Commission, Electric Load Serving Entities.
What electricity costs in Los Angeles County
SCE. The CPUC Public Advocates Office put SCE's residential average rate at $0.344 per kWh as of June 1, 2026, up 56% over five years and 101% since January 2016, and names wildfire mitigation and liability costs, transmission and distribution investment, and rooftop solar incentives as the main statewide drivers. Since November 2025 SCE has also charged a Base Services Charge of $24.15 a month for customers not on CARE or FERA ($12.08 on FERA, $6.00 on CARE), and says per-kWh prices fell about 10% to offset it. Altadena's SCE bill increase, explained shows what SCE's 2025 rate case and that charge added to bills in one unincorporated community, where SCE delivers the power and Clean Power Alliance supplies it by default.
Average bills. For June 2026 the Public Advocates Office estimated SCE bills for customers not on CARE at $152 a month in a cool climate zone where homes use about 385 kWh a month, and $254 in a hot zone where they use about 700 kWh; CARE customers averaged $81 and $165. Its Q2 2026 city comparison put the Greater Los Angeles area (SCE) ahead of San Jose and San Diego. About 813,943 SCE customers, 17%, were behind on their bills in May 2026, owing $733 on average.
LADWP. The CPUC reports do not cover LADWP. Its standard residential rate (R-1A) is tiered by usage and zone: in Zone 1 the first tier is the first 350 kWh, the second the next 700 kWh and the third everything above 1,050 kWh; in Zone 2 the tiers are 700, 1,400 and above 2,100 kWh. LADWP also offers a time-of-use rate (R-1B). The prices are on your bill and in LADWP's Schedule R-1; see our LADWP bill and rate guide and, for SCE customers, the SCE high-bill breakdown.
Sources: CPUC Public Advocates Office, Q2 2026 Electric Rates Report; SCE, Base Services Charge; LADWP, residential electric rates. All fetched September 23, 2026. Current averages for every utility are on the California utility rate tracker.
Check your utility before you believe any quote
LADWP, Glendale Water & Power and Pasadena Water & Power are publicly owned. They set their own rates and their own net-metering terms, and they are not governed by the CPUC's NEM 3.0 decision. If a salesperson is quoting you SCE rates, or telling an LADWP customer that a NEM 3.0 deadline is about to cost them money, the numbers in front of you are for a different household. Ask which utility the estimate was built on.
Check the provider on your bill
LADWP serves the City of LA. SCE serves most of the county. Glendale and Pasadena run their own municipal utilities.
Homeowners
Rooftop solar decisions assume you own the home. Renters can ask the landlord or look at community solar.
Next step
Find your city below, confirm the utility matches your bill, then compare written quotes against that bill.
Solar by city in Los Angeles County
Los Angeles
We cover 7 of Los Angeles County's 88 incorporated cities today, and we are adding more. If yours is not here, the statewide guide covers the rules that apply everywhere in California.
Solar cost in Los Angeles County cities
What owners in each Los Angeles County city reported paying per watt for solar (CPUC DG Stats, January 2025 to May 2026), with the city’s utility, its community choice aggregator and its permit fee. Where fewer than 30 owners reported, the figure is the county’s or wider, as labeled. Reported costs, not quotes.
| City | Utility | CCA | Median reported cost | Permit fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glendale | GWP | None recorded | $3.51/W county, 3,437 reports | No figure published |
| Lakewood | SCE | None recorded | $3.51/W county, 3,437 reports | Fee schedule not published in readable form |
| Long Beach | SCE | None recorded | $3.79/W city, 175 reports | $386.62 |
| Los Angeles | LADWP | None recorded | $3.51/W county, 3,437 reports | No figure published |
| Pasadena | PWP | None recorded | $3.51/W county, 3,437 reports | Fee schedule not published in readable form |
| Santa Clarita | SCE | None recorded | $4.00/W city, 43 reports | $450 |
Every California city with a cost page is listed by county on one index.
Comparing installers rather than bills? The companies pages for Santa Monica (SCE with Clean Power Alliance), Bellflower (new roof-certification rules since January 2026) and the High Desert, which covers Lancaster, Palmdale and the Antelope Valley, show each permit office's steps.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the electricity provider in Los Angeles, California?
For the City of Los Angeles it is LADWP, the city-owned Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Most of the rest of Los Angeles County is Southern California Edison territory, often with a community choice provider such as Clean Power Alliance supplying the generation, and Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank, Vernon, Azusa, Cerritos and the City of Industry run their own utilities. The name on your bill settles it.
What is the average electric bill in Los Angeles?
No source publishes one figure for the whole county. For SCE customers, the CPUC Public Advocates Office estimated June 2026 average bills for customers not on CARE at $152 a month in a cool climate zone where homes use about 385 kWh a month, and $254 in a hot zone where they use about 700 kWh. Its Q2 2026 city comparison put the Greater Los Angeles area (SCE) above San Jose and San Diego. LADWP bills are not covered by those reports.
How much is electricity in Los Angeles?
For SCE customers, the Public Advocates Office put SCE's residential average rate at 34.4 cents per kWh as of June 1, 2026, and SCE adds a Base Services Charge of $24.15 a month for customers not on CARE or FERA. LADWP prices its standard residential rate in tiers that depend on your usage and zone; check the rate schedule printed on your bill.
Do LADWP customers get the CPUC's solar rules?
No. LADWP is city-owned and credits customer solar under its own net energy metering rider, not the CPUC Net Billing Tariff that applies to SCE, PG&E and SDG&E customers. Glendale and Pasadena set their own rules too.
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Primary trusted sources
Government, research, and standards bodies we routinely cite. We link out so readers can verify our claims at the source.
- California Contractors State License Board (CSLB)Public license records for every contractor in California. Used to verify C-46 solar license status, bond filings, disciplinary actions.
- CSLB License LookupDirect license search; confirms active status, bond, classification, and any disciplinary actions on file.
- California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)NEM 3 / Net Billing Tariff documents, IOU rate filings, solar interconnection rules.
- CPUC Net Billing Tariff (NEM 3)Authoritative source for NEM 3 / NBT compensation rules and updates.
- DSIRE — Database of State IncentivesComprehensive database of federal, state, and utility incentives for renewable energy. Maintained by NC Clean Energy Technology Center.
- IRS — Residential Clean Energy Credit (Form 5695)IRS guidance on the residential clean energy credit (Section 25D), which does not apply to expenditures made after December 31, 2025.
- NREL — National Renewable Energy LaboratoryUS Department of Energy lab. Source of solar resource maps, panel efficiency data, and benchmark solar cost reports.