Sky-high LADWP bills light up social media

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Set us as preferred Social media and online forums are aflame over higher than usual Los Angeles Department of Water and Power bills, with some customers noting recent charges hundreds of dollars over what they paid in previous billing cycles and years.Residents are posting bills they call “outrageous,” “insane” and “extremely crazy” as charges for summer use continue to hit mailboxes.

Canter’s Deli made headlines when its owners received a $35,700 bill, up almost $11,000 from four months earlier.Recent increases in sewer and trash fees, plus steadily rising water rates and higher summer water use are partly to blame.

But Angelenos’ ire has been especially directed at electricity bills as the extra AC needed during triple-digit heat waves landed people in the utility’s higher-cost tiers, which also have been rising.Aggressive and impactful reporting on climate change, the environment, health and science.More than 24,000 people have signed a petition calling for the city to investigate the bills and adjust the tiers.

It was started by a San Fernando Valley man who received a $2,115 electric bill for his 2,500-square-foot home that he said he kept at 74 degrees between the months of August and September.Electric bill sticker shock is common for customers of investor-owned utilities, but less so for municipally owned utilities such as DWP.Denise Grab, clean energy project director at UCLA’s Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, said over the past three years, Southern California Edison‘s rate for the typical household using 500 kWh per month has risen about 4% while DWP’s has gone up 45%.But Edison still charges about 20% more than DWP.“They’re closer than they were last year,” when she published a report comparing the two utilities, Grab said.

She also expects Edison rates t...