When I opened my recent LADWP bill, my jaw hit the floor: $3,322.01 for two months. Over $2,100 of that was electricity alone.

I posted a video venting about it on TikTok and X, expecting maybe a few friends to commiserate. Instead, it blew up with nearly a million views and thousands of Angelenos saying the exact same thing: our utility bills are now rivaling our mortgages and rent payments.

I live in the San Fernando Valley with my wife and our two sons.

In Los Angeles, especially across the Valley, summer heat routinely tops 100 to 105 degrees. Keeping a home at 74 degrees isn't a luxury; it is basic survival for families, seniors, and pets. Yet, because of LADWP's aggressive tiered pricing system and opaque pass-through charges, residents are effectively penalized with a massive "Heat Tax" just for trying to avoid heatstroke.

LADWP is a publicly owned municipal utility, and it belongs to the residents of Los Angeles. We are not an endless revenue stream to cover city budget shortfalls.

Los Angeles votes for mayor on November 3, and whoever wins will oversee the utility that sends these bills. Mayor Bass, and every candidate for her office, should tell ratepayers whether they support an independent audit of LADWP.

Our Demands:

1. An Independent Audit: We call on City Controller Kenneth Mejia to launch an independent, public audit into LADWP's rate calculations, tiered penalty structures, and pass-through adjustment factors (the Energy Cost Adjustment and the Incremental Reliability Cost Adjustment) that quietly inflate bills.
2. Emergency Summer Tier Adjustments: Raise the Tier 1 and Tier 2 kilowatt-hour thresholds during peak heat months (July through September) so households aren't pushed into top-tier penalty rates for essential cooling during triple-digit heat waves.
3. End Bi-Monthly Shock Billing & Add-On Bloat: Implement flexible monthly billing options and relief protections that prevent compounding multi-thousand-dollar bi-monthly bills, while capping non-discretionary sewer and sanitation add-ons during peak heat.
4. No Shut-Offs & Grace Periods: Guarantee interest-free payment arrangements and a complete halt to service disconnections for residents hit with extreme summer bill spikes.

Living in Los Angeles is already unaffordable enough. Running an air conditioner shouldn't force families into debt.

Sign this petition to demand transparency, accountability, and immediate rate relief from City Hall.