Criticism Over Excessive Overtime And Payroll Cost
The LADWP has been criticised for allowing excessive overtime. In 2018, 306 of its workers took home more than $100,000 in overtime pay, while the agency paid $250 million for overtime, a new high for the agency.:1:1:1The most egregious example of this is a security worker who was paid $314,000 in overtime, on a listed base pay of $25,000, along with three peers who were paid more than $200,000 overtime each. :1:1One policy which enables these large overtime payouts is a provision in the union contracts which requires a normal shift worked after more than one hour of overtime to be paid at double time, as well as that overtime is not based on working more than 40 hours in a week, but on working time beyond a “normal” shift.:1
A separate study found that LADWP’s yearly payroll expense per customer was $490, significantly higher than the nationwide median for large utilities of $280 per customer.:1:1
Notable Events And Controversies
On March 12, 1928, the St. Francis Dam, built and operated by the LADWP, collapsed catastrophically. The disaster, considered to be one of the worst American civil engineering disasters of the 20th century, was the second-greatest loss of life in California’s history, after only the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. The ensuing flood caused devastation to present-day Valencia, Newhall and the cities in the Santa Clara River Valley, taking the lives of some 425 people. The high death toll was due, in part, to confusion and mis-communication by and between employees of both the LADWP and Southern California Edison, who also had facilities and operations in the area, which led to the lack of prompt warnings being sent to the downriver communities. Those cities included Piru, Fillmore, Santa Paula, and San Buenaventura. Mulholland assumed full responsibility for the disaster and retired the next year. The pall of the disaster hung over him until his death in 1935.
The LADWP has been a leading actor in the struggle over access to water from the Owens Valley, starting with its initial acquisition of water rights, as well as acquiring farms and governance of Mono Lake and Owens Lake.
The LADWP played a key role in the development of Hoover Dam and bringing its energy to Los Angeles. The LADWP continued to operate the Hoover Dam electrical facility alongside Southern California Edison until 1987.
About Los Angeles Department Of Water And Power
Have you ever considered working for a Public Utility? Are you interested in energy efficiency and achieving a 100% clean energy grid? Are you interested in water conservation and developing sustainable local water supplies? If so, you may want to consider a career with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power . LADWP is the largest municipal utility in the nation, providing reliable water and power to over 1.4 million customers. With over 11,000 employees, LADWP offers a great work environment, a culture that values diversity and inclusion, opportunities for professional and personal growth, and a competitive benefits package.
It takes the latest technology and innovative ideas to meet the water and power needs of one of the largest cities in the world. It also takes bright and enthusiastic people like you to solve the historic challenges posed by cyclical drought and the transition to renewable energy. Be a part of the dynamic workforce thats transforming LADWP into a sustainability leader! Find out how you can build your career and future at LADWP: contact us at ladwp.recruitment@ladwp.com or visit www.joinLADWP.com
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Comprehensive Affordable Multifamily Retrofits Program
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Powers Comprehensive Affordable Multifamily Retrofits program assists L.A.s low income, multifamily property owners. CAMR will offer multifamily property owners no-cost property assessments to identify efficiency opportunities to help owners and their residents to save energy and reduce costs. In addition, qualified property owners will receive aid with work scope development and the contractor procurement process.
Property owners can receive financial incentives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in both common areas and inside tenants units.
About The Los Angeles Department Of Water And Power

The Los Angeles Department Of Water And Power, located in Los Angeles, CA, is an utility company that provides public services for Los Angeles residents. In Los Angeles County, Utility Companies provide electricity, natural gas, water, and sewer services. Los Angeles residents can contact the Utility Company to learn about services, start or stop Utility services, or for billing and payment information.
You may contact Utilities for questions about:
- Utilities billing and payments
- Shutting off or transferring Utilities
- Hours of operation
County Office is not affiliated with any government agency. Third party advertisements support hosting, listing verification, updates, and site maintenance. Information found on CountyOffice.org is strictly for informational purposes and does not construe legal, financial or medical advice.
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Editorial: The New Plan To Slash Rooftop Solar Incentives Is Better But Still Too Extreme
California regulators revise plan to slash incentives for rooftop solar. Its not as drastic as before, but that doesnt make it a reasonable compromise.
We do recognize there are other customers who need more assistance and less menace, said Board of Water and Power Commission President Cynthia McClain-Hill, who spearheaded the policy, which was adopted by the board earlier this month.
The city-owned utility had been planning to reinstate shutoffs in May 2023 for non-discounted customers and September 2023 for low-income customers enrolled in discount plans. Southern California Edison, the investor-owned utility that serves much of Southern California outside the city of L.A., has recently resumed disconnections.
The DWPs shutoff protection applies to about 236,000 low-income residential customers, but the utility is also considering ending disconnections for small businesses and landlords who rent to low-income tenants. In addition, the DWP will no longer disconnect water and power service for any customer during extreme weather events. Thats important because climate change is fueling more dangerous and frequent heat waves, and the inability to run a fan or air conditioner can be deadly.
Discontinuing shutoffs helps, but there is a lot of work to ensure the poorest customers can afford service that is getting more expensive as the utility adjusts to drought, climate change and clean energy targets.
Welcome To The Los Angeles Board Of Water And Power Commissioners Website
The Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners oversees and sets policy for the nationâs largest municipal utility serving more than 4 million residents of Los Angeles, its businesses, and visitors. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power supports the growth and vitality of the City of Los Angeles, its residents, businesses, and the communities it serves by providing safe, reliable, and cost-effective water and power in a customer-focused and environmentally responsible manner. In October 2020, the Board made history as the first all-female board to lead LADWP and any LA city department.
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Los Angeles Department Of Water And Power : John Ferraro Building
Constructed in 1965, the John Ferraro Building is an iconic office building that houses the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power . In 2014, LADWP committed to obtaining LEED Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance certification for the building by its 50th anniversary date in June 2015. This cross-functional effort leveraged energy and water efficiency improvements completed over the years, including lighting retrofits, green plumbing and toilet retrofits, fan system upgrades, and the installation of an energy efficient chiller.
The building was originally designed with unique, experimental features. For example, the lighting system also heated the building, resulting in a high density of lighting fixtures. The HVAC system includes distribution along the exterior window area at floor level and return air integrated with the lighting fixtures. A reflecting pond surrounds the building and is integrated with the cooling towers. The building upgrades for LEED certification were designed to achieve improved energy performance while still preserving the historic nature of the building.
- Fan System Variable Frequency Drive and Static Pressure Control
- Fan System Economizer Damper Control
- 6th Floor Lighting Upgrade
- Lighting Schedule Change, Half-Hour Daily Reduction
LADWP O& M has reduced the lighting schedule for all indoor areas by 30 minutes. This resulted in approximately 6,110 kWh of energy savings, with a 6-month payback after utility incentives .
About Los Angeles Department Of Water & Power
Los Angeles Department of Water & Power is a municipally owned entity headquartered in Los Angeles, California and serving customers in 5 cities in California. There are 1,382,871 residential customers, 89,610 commercial customer accounts, 2 transportation customers and 9,358 industrial customers who are served by the provider. The average residential electricity price for consumers of Los Angeles Department of Water & Power is roughly 22.04 cents per kilowatt hour. Luckily, this is 12.01% below California’s average rate of 25.05 cents, ranking the company at 58th lowest for average electricity rate out of 67 suppliers in California. There were a total of 20,960,389 megawatt hours sold to retail accounts in 2020 by the supplier and 494,259 megawatt hours sold through wholesale channels. The electricity produced in the company’s power plants made up 89.07% of the electricity sourced by the company. The purchase of wholesale electricity made up an additional 16.85%. In 2020, the company made a total of $4,086,338,300 from retail electricity sales to end users and a total of $17,539,000 via wholesale channels. Their total revenue from electricity activities was $4,103,877,300.
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We Provide Sustainable Water Supplies And Healthy Watersheds While Reducing Flood Risk For Our Communities
Desired Results
- Increase percentage of key infrastructure elements in acceptable condition.
- Increase percentage of levees meeting NFIP standards.
- Increase percentage of Dams meeting DSOD standards.
Analysis
- Age of the Flood Control District infrastructure is the primary factor affecting the condition of flood control facilities.
- Increasing environmental regulations increase maintenance costs, and limit the scope of maintenance activities.
- Infrastructure components are becoming increasingly complex which increases maintenance costs.
- In order to keep flood control facilities in good operating condition, a programmatic repair and/or replacement effort may be warranted.
Actions
- Enhance horizontal infrastructure planning and project management.
- Revise and update short- and long-term sediment management plans.
- Invest in and adopt watershed approach to public outreach efforts.
- Investigate the need to transition to a more specialized workforce investigate enhanced training for FMD employees.
- Conduct System Optimization studies.
Los Angeles Department Of Water And Power
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The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is the largest municipal utility in the United States with 8,100 megawatts of electric generating capacity and delivering an average of 435 million gallons of water per day to more than four million residents and local businesses in the City of Los Angeles.
It was founded in 1902 to supply water to residents and businesses in the Los Angeles and surrounding communities. In 1917, it began to deliver electricity to portions of the city. It has been involved in a number of controversies and media portrayals over the years, including the 1928 St. Francis Dam failure and the books Water and Power and Cadillac Desert.
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Board Of Water And Power Commissioners
LADWP is overseen by the five-member Los Angeles Board of Water and Power Commissioners, who are appointed by the Mayor of Los Angeles and confirmed by the Los Angeles City Council for five-year terms. The board sets policy for the Department of Water and Power and votes on utility rates, renewable energy projects, and pension tiers for LADWP employees.
The Board meets regularly on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. Currently, the Board is observing physical distancing measures in accordance with California Governor Gavin Newsom‘s order for COVID-19 prevention.
Regular meeting agendas are available to the public at least 72 hours before the Board meets. The agenda for meetings contains a brief general description of the items to be considered. The Board may consider an item not on the agenda only in limited circumstances consistent with the Brown Act.
Current Board of Water and Power Commissioners
Los Angeles Department Of Water And Power Is Participating In The Following Doe Programs:

Energy Data Analysis Accelerator |
Since 2000, LADWP’s energy efficiency programs have saved more than a billion kilowatt-hours and reduced electricity demand by almost 300 MW enough to offset the construction of a mid-sized power plant. On the water front, LADWP’s water efficiency programs have enabled the City of Los Angeles to maintain the same overall water usage over the last 40 years despite population growth of over 1 million people in the same time frame. LADWP joined the Better Buildings Challenge as a Utility Ally in 2012. As a Utility Ally, LADWP will offer automated data upload into ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager and coordinate multi-measure program offerings for its customers. LADWP will also partner with the regional gas utility to offer combined electric/water/gas programs to customers, a nation-leading first at this scale.
In early 2015, LADWP broadened its commitment to energy efficiency by joining the Better Plants Challenge, agreeing to reduce the energy intensity of all its water treatment plants and 80 pumping stations by 25% over ten years. This builds on the utilitys existing internal sustainability strategy that features four major thrusts:
- Assess current state of facilities Analyze, benchmark, establish metrics
- Engage internal stakeholders employees , executives
- Set policy and procedure Set targets, metering, training, embed commitment
- Make it happen! Define projects, allocate internal resources, execute, ingrain into policies/procedures
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