Some Los Angeles residents saw electricity bills double this summer as a prolonged heatwave collided with rate increases from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).

LADWP raised its standard residential rates 5% to 9% for July through September 2026, depending on usage tier, the Korea Daily reported. Downtown Los Angeles endured 12 consecutive days above 90 degrees, while the San Fernando Valley hit nearly 110. At a Koreatown apartment complex, tenants are refusing to pay utility charges they say lack transparency.

Lee Sang-min, 51, told the Korea Daily his bill hit $307, double last summer's amount. "With temperatures expected to soar up to 110 degrees this week, I'm more worried about the electricity bill shock than the scorching heat itself," he said.

The pain extends beyond individual households. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Second Quarter 2026 report found 813,943 Southern California Edison (SCE) accounts across Los Angeles and Orange counties were past due as of May, with an average unpaid balance of $733. That's 17% of SCE's total customer base.

UCLA scientists who analyzed roughly 300,000 low-income SCE households found that each day above 100 degrees adds $2.92 to a household's electricity costs. A 10-day stretch at that temperature adds about $29 to a monthly bill, and tiered pricing compounds the hit as usage climbs past baseline thresholds.

Koreatown tenants strike over billing

At Virgil Square Apartments near Koreatown, roughly four dozen tenants have refused to pay utility charges since June 2025, demanding transparency from property owner Equity Residential. The building uses a Ratio Utility Billing System (RUBS), which splits total building utility costs by apartment size and occupant count rather than metering individual usage.

Resident Joe Porter told the Los Angeles Times his monthly charge for trash, sewer and water jumped from $86 to $182. "I'm willing to pay it if someone will show me it's legitimate," Porter said.

Equity Residential, which owns about 15,000 apartments in the L.A. metro area, did not respond to the Times' questions. Spokesperson Marty McKenna told The Guardian the company's practices are "fully compliant with California law." Tenants were threatened with eviction for hanging signs on their balconies calling attention to the billing method, the Times reported.

Rose Lenehan, a tenant organizer with the Debt Collective, told The Guardian that residents of about a dozen buildings across LA are working with her group or the Los Angeles Tenants Union to challenge RUBS charges.

City weighs RUBS ban

The LA Housing Department recommended in December 2025 that the city outlaw RUBS in rent-stabilized homes. It estimated 19% of rent-stabilized units, roughly 123,000 apartments, have master-metered utilities likely using the system. The City Council is considering strengthening tenant protections, though no hearing date has been set.

Daniel Yukelson, executive director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, agreed tenants deserve clarity. "If your customer is paying for it, they should know what they're paying for," he told the Times.

Heat response and outages

Mayor Karen Bass issued an Extreme Heat Warning effective Tuesday, Aug. 25, through Friday, Aug. 28, and opened nine cooling centers with extended hours across the city, according to the mayor's office. Thousands of residents lost power Thursday, Aug. 27, as temperatures hit 100 degrees, forcing some to seek relief in their cars, KTLA reported.

LADWP is offering rebates of up to $275 on energy-efficient air conditioning units through its COOL LA program. SCE customers will receive an automatic $72 California Climate Credit on their August and September bills, according to the utility.

The next step for Virgil Square tenants: the City Council has yet to schedule a vote on the RUBS ban the Housing Department recommended eight months ago.