LADWP customers reach boiling point as residents blast soaring bills at heated meeting

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Furious Angelenos blasted LADWP commissioners Tuesday over soaring utility bills, demanding an audit of massive employee overtime payouts as the city-owned utility urges cash-strapped customers to conserve water and power.

The outrage erupted at the Board of Water and Power Commissioners meeting, where residents described bills soaring into the hundreds and even thousands of dollars.

Micah Reed, a San Fernando Valley resident who received a staggering $3,322.01 LADWP bill, including $2,114.52 in electricity charges, attended the meeting after launching a Change.org petition calling for an independent audit and summer rate relief.

His petition collected more than 39,000 signatures in less than four weeks, which he delivered to the commission Tuesday.

“I’m not here to argue about how much power my family used,” Reed told commissioners. “I am here because I can’t tell how my bill was calculated.”

“There are adjustment charges on it that no customer can check, and no one has been able to show me the math,” he said.

Reed welcomed calls for an independent audit but questioned when one would actually begin.

“Calling for an audit isn’t the same as doing one,” he said.

Cheyenne Gutierrez, who lives with her mother in a two-bedroom apartment at Park La Brea, testified that their bill had surged from roughly $150 to nearly $900.

She said their air-conditioning habits had not changed, with the thermostat consistently set at 74 or 75 degrees.

Gutierrez, who suffers from seizures and physical disabilities, explained that her mother is her caregiver and the household survives on limited income.

“We’re just doing what we can to survive,” she told commissioners.

But before residents could speak, commission president Allan Marks spent roughly 30 minutes explaining rising electricity costs, including extreme heat and increased air-conditioning use.

He told customers that raising their thermostats by one degree could save 3% to 6% on the electricity portion of their bills, while a five-degree adjustment could cut those charges by roughly 23%.

Raul Claros, founder and executive director of California Rising, was not impressed.

“The 30-minute mansplaining that were opening remarks was just ridiculous,” Claros told the California Post after testifying.

“I was offended by President Marks insinuating that it’s on the ratepayers,” he said, pointing to what he described as a lack of transparency and oversight.

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Residents also took aim at LADWP’s enormous employee salaries and overtime payouts, which have come under scrutiny following a California Post examination of the utility’s payroll.

The Post found that LADWP’s five highest-paid employees collected a combined $3.84 million in wages in 2025, with all five earning more in overtime than regular pay.

One employee collected more than $779,000, while another received more than $505,000 in overtime alone.

“How about reduce the salaries to a reasonable amount?” one resident told commissioners. “How are you guys okay with this?”

The speaker called for a forensic audit of LADWP operations, including employee overtime and staffing practices.

Claros called the salary figures “another clear sign of poverty pimping.”

“We need relief now,” he said.

Another angry resident questioned the sprawling water features surrounding LADWP’s downtown headquarters, pointing to the elaborate fountains and moat-like reflecting pool while customers are urged to conserve water.

“I could not believe that massive body of water,” she told The Post after the meeting. “Are they kidding with that?”

The commission president acknowledged complaints about billing accuracy, unexpected charges and transparency, while saying LADWP’s outdated rate structure needs reform.

The utility has outlined relief measures, including suspending electricity shutoffs for nonpayment through December 31 and expanding assistance for struggling customers.

Meanwhile, the uproar has spilled into the final week of the Los Angeles mayoral election, with Mayor Karen Bass blaming challenger Nithya Raman for supporting fee hikes and failing to act on rising utility costs, while Raman has accused Bass of doing too little, too late to address skyrocketing bills.