Following the Palisades Fire in January 2025, LADWP notified all customers in the Pacific Palisades area that we were pausing all billing for utilities, including water and electric service and charges collected on behalf of Los Angeles Sanitation & Environment (LASAN) for wastewater and solid waste. At the time, LADWP crews focused their efforts on quickly restoring water quality and electric service to all customers whose homes and businesses could receive service.
Since then, LADWP has attempted to remove all destroyed properties from its billing system and closed these customer accounts based on information obtained from LA County or directly from customers who contacted us after the fire to close their accounts.
Beginning in late July 2025, LADWP will resume meter reading and billing for properties in the Pacific Palisades’ 90272 zip code with active water and/or electric service who are on a Monthly Billing Schedule. This includes mostly commercial customers. Residential customers on a Bi-Monthly Billing Schedule will resume having their meters read and receive bills beginning in late August through early September.
Water Service Billing
For any Pacific Palisades customer whose account was not closed, LADWP will not bill for any water consumption between the last bill that was issued before the Palisades Fire and the upcoming meter read date. However, LADWP will include any charges that were owed before the Palisades Fire.
Because customers in the 90272 zip code will not be charged at all for water used between those two dates, the previously announced $50 bill credit for water used to flush pipes after the Do Not Drink notice was lifted in March 2025, will not be applied to these customer accounts. Customers in areas affected by the Do Not Drink notice outside of the 90272 zip code will be billed for their water use and will receive a $50 billing credit for pipe flushing.
Billing will resume as normal for any new water consumption on the following bill cycle.
Electric Service Billing
The customers’ next bill will reflect electricity used between the last bill issued before the Palisades Fire and the upcoming meter read date.
Rule 17(d) of the LADWP Rules Governing Water and Electric Service limits LADWP from back-billing a customer for a period of time in excess of three (3) billing cycles for customers billed bimonthly or six (6) billing cycles for customers billed monthly. That means that when LADWP resumes billing customers in the Pacific Palisades, customers will see a credit on their bill for a minimum of one (1) billing cycle, resulting in a lower bill.
If LADWP is unable to access an electric meter to obtain a current reading, the customer will be billed based on estimated consumption. Once LADWP is able to obtain an actual meter read, the account will be adjusted accordingly.
Automatic Payment and Level Pay
When billing resumes, customers’ account payment settings prior to the fire will continue to apply. If an account was enrolled in automatic payment, and that enrollment has not been cancelled, then the customer’s payment method will be debited automatically 10 business days after LADWP issues a bill. Customers may view or update their automatic payment source or cancel automatic payment by logging into their account at www.ladwp.com and selecting “Edit Automatic Payment Service.”
LADWP cannot edit or cancel enrollment in automatic payment service on a customer’s behalf.
Customers enrolled in Level Pay will continue receiving scheduled monthly payment notices, and payment terms and schedules will continue when billing resumes.
Supporting Our Customers
To assist customers in managing their delayed bills, customers will be able to enroll in extended payment options to pay their bill over time.
Additionally, accounts in the Pacific Palisades will be exempt from collections activity for the remainder of 2025. Any outstanding balances will not be considered late during this time, even if a customer’s bill indicates “past due amount.”
If CAL FIRE identified the customer’s property as destroyed, and the customer nevertheless receives a bill, the customer should contact LADWP. We can assist with closing the account and issuing a final bill based on the last meter read before January 7, 2025.
Approximately 5,600 impacted customers who contacted LADWP by phone, email, or in person during and since the fire have received assistance from LADWP.
LADWP has a dedicated support team at the Unified Utilities Rebuild Operations Center for customers who are rebuilding. Go to www.ladwp.com/UUROC for additional information.
Solar customers whose homes were destroyed or partially destroyed and who decide to rebuild on the same property will retain all banked Net Energy Metering (NEM) credits. However, due to legal limitations, banked credits cannot be transferred to another location other than the original account property.
For questions about electric and water bills, customers should contact LADWP at 1-800-DIAL-DWP or 1-800-342-5397. For questions about sewer and trash fees, customers may contact LASAN at 1-800-773-2489.
