Power from LADWP
Electrician in Los Angeles: LADBS permits and old bungalows
In Los Angeles the power company and the permit office are both city departments, LADWP and LADBS. The city is large enough that heat, fire risk and housing age change a lot from the Valley to the coast.
Electric utility
LADWP
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP)
City or district utility. SCE programs do not apply. Utility site
Different from SCE: your meter and rebates come from LADWP.
Los Angeles is served by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), not Southern California Edison. Service upgrades, meter work and rebates go through that utility, so SCE programs do not apply.
Permit fees in Los Angeles
Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS)
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Minimum electrical permit LADBS Electrical Permits Fee Schedule (PC-ELEC.FeeSched01, Rev 12/2016), the version LADBS still posts. This is the revision LADBS currently posts. | $90 for 2 or more items, or 1 item over $55; $55 for 1 item under $55 |
| Permit issuing fee Applies when the permit subtotal is over $90. A 3% surcharge and a 6% systems surcharge are added to the permit subtotal. | $23.00 |
| Service, 0 to 200 amps | $16.00 |
| Service, 201 to 600 amps | $34.00 |
| Panelboard or subpanel, 0 to 200 amps | $16.00 |
| General-use branch circuits, 120V, first 10 Circuits 11 to 40 are $16.00 each. Used for a new EV charger circuit. | $17.00 each |
Taken from the city's fee page. Fees change, and other charges such as plan check can apply. Confirm at the permit counter. Compare permit fees across cities.
Turnaround. Simple residential jobs can use an LADBS Express Permit, issued online or at a Development Service Center counter by appointment, with no plan review. Larger service changes go to plan check.
EV charger permits. LADBS added residential EV chargers to its Express Permit list. A simple Level 2 charger without a panel upgrade is permitted online with no plan review (per the LADWP Charger Installation page). LADWP asks the owner to submit its Residential EV Charger Request Form first, then the electrician gets the LADBS permit and schedules inspection. The LADWP rebate needs the permit shown as finaled. State law (AB 1236, Government Code 65850.7) requires every city to run an expedited, checklist-based EV charger permit process.
Inspections. The electrician requests the inspection after the work is done. LADBS sends the power release to LADWP automatically after final inspection passes (per the City recovery page for fire rebuilds, which uses the same system).
Rebates listed for Los Angeles
From LADWP and the city
| Program | Amount |
|---|---|
 LADWP Residential EV Charger Rebate LADWP residential account holders | Up to $1,000 for a qualifying Level 2 charger, plus $500 more for Senior/Disability Lifeline or EZ-SAVE customers (up to $1,500) |
LADWP dedicated EV meter rebate LADWP residential customers adding a separate EV meter | $250, chosen on the EV charger rebate application |
LADWP EV rate discount Separately metered EV charger on a TOU plan | $0.025 per kWh off base-period charges |
Amounts as listed by each program, October 2026. Programs have limits and rules.
$2,500 to $4,500
A regional range from the sources on the cost page. Your electrician gives the actual quote after a look.
Get this quote
Valley heat, coastal cool
Downtown averages in the mid 80s in July. Woodland Hills and Sylmar run in the 90s to 100s, ten or more degrees hotter. That gap matters for panels. A Valley house may run two air conditioners at once on a panel sized in a cooler decade, while a coastal house barely runs air conditioning at all. If your house sits in the Valley, ask for a load calculation before adding a charger or heat pump, because heat-wave afternoons are when a tight panel trips.
The panel upgrade page and the utility coordination guide show the steps with LADWP and LADBS. The cost of a panel upgrade page has typical SoCal ranges.
Old houses
Bungalows and courtyard buildings carry most of the age here: 28 percent of Los Angeles homes were built before 1950, 44 percent before 1960 and 57 percent before 1970, against a median build year of 1965. Those in Echo Park, Highland Park, Silver Lake and West Adams are the ones to check first, where cloth-covered cable, ungrounded circuits or knob-and-tube can turn up. See knob-and-tube replacement if you find it in an attic. Postwar ranch houses in the Valley are younger but often have small panels for today’s loads.
Fire hills and outages
LADWP does not run SCE-style shutoffs on a program. It told customers in its elevated and extreme fire-risk areas to prepare for outages longer than 48 hours. Those areas include the Hollywood Hills, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Sunland-Tujunga and Porter Ranch, and the exact parcel has to be checked on a city or CAL FIRE map. Hillside lots often have long overhead service drops and steep access, which adds time to any panel job.
Read what a power shutoff means and the backup power options. The January 2025 fires left customers in fire-hit areas without power for days, so a battery is more than a convenience on some streets.
Undergrounding after the Palisades fire
Pacific Palisades is being moved to underground power in phases after the January 2025 fire. For an owner who is rebuilding, that changes the electrical plan: a combination service panel and direct-buried conduit to the street fits the new service, while an overhead plan may be redone later. Ask LADWP which phase applies before trenching.
Chargers and the EV meter
Simple home chargers are on the LADBS Express Permit list. See the LADWP programs guide for the rebate and the separate EV meter option. Overnight charging is where the savings are, because LADWP counts nights and weekends as its cheapest time period.
The housing, in numbers
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; QuickFacts for Los Angeles. Climate zone 9 in most ZIPs, 8 and 6 in the rest (by ZIP).
What LADWP handles on a panel or charger job
LADWP handles the meter and service changes for its customers. How the steps fit together.
LADWP is the city-owned utility and serves almost all of the City of Los Angeles, including the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood, Downtown, the Westside and the Harbor area. It also serves Owens Valley and a few small areas outside city limits. SCE serves the cities around LA (Culver City, Santa Monica, Inglewood, Hawthorne, Gardena, Compton, South Gate and others). A house on one side of a city line can be LADWP and the house across the street SCE. A few small pockets inside LA city boundaries on the edges are not LADWP, so the bill is the check. LADWP gives a free Meter Spot (placement check) before a new or moved service panel on overhead residential services up to 400A. Its guide says to contact the area Electric Service Representative (ESR) five working days before construction. LADWP guarantees a 10,000 amp fault current value for residential services up to 200A.
Order of steps in LADWP territory (from the LADWP Guide to Electric Service, March 2024): get a Meter Spot Sheet from the ESR before the LADBS inspection. The electrician pulls the LADBS electrical permit and passes the LADBS inspection; LADBS electronically sends a release to LADWP. The service data on the release (address, main switch size, phase, voltage) must match the permit; LADWP inspects, then schedules the meter and any line work. The guide says to allow several days for the LADBS release to reach LADWP. For single-family service of 320 to 400A, LADWP asks for a Residential Service Planning Information Form. LADWP says to contact an ESR at least two weeks before installing a home charger so it can check the transformer and service lines.
EV rate. LADWP does not have a stand-alone EV rate. LADWP also pays a separate $250 rebate for installing the dedicated EV meter.
Backup power for shutoff days
What the record shows on outages in Los Angeles
Shutoff record: Named on a possible-shutoff list only
The January 2025 windstorm and fires (Palisades fire) left about 17,000 LADWP customers without power in fire-hit areas including Pacific Palisades, Encino and Brentwood a week later (TD World, LADWP update).
Worth knowing in Los Angeles
- In Los Angeles the utility is a city department, not SCE: LADWP gives a free Meter Spot before a new or moved panel on overhead residential service up to 400A. The owner needs a Meter Spot Sheet from the LADWP Electric Service Representative before the LADBS inspection. Source
- A panel change that differs from the permitted size can hold the meter. Source
- LADBS has put simple residential EV chargers on its Express Permit list, which skips plan review and can be issued online through its permit portal or at a Development Service Center by appointment. Source
- The City's guidance for owners who rebuild is to install a combination service panel and direct-buried conduit to the street, which LADWP recommends but does not require. Source
- LADWP's R-1B time-of-use plan has three periods: high peak 1 to 4:59 pm weekdays, low peak 10 am to 12:59 pm and 5 to 7:59 pm weekdays. Base the rest of the time including all weekend. The EV meter discount applies only to base-period use, so charging overnight matters. Source
Jobs Los Angeles homeowners look up
Commercial electrical work in Los Angeles
Nearby cities
Questions about electrical work in Los Angeles
Does Valley heat change the panel I need in Los Angeles?
It can. Woodland Hills and Sylmar run ten or more degrees hotter than downtown in July, so a Valley house may run two air conditioners at once on a panel sized in a cooler decade. Ask the electrician for a load calculation before adding a charger or heat pump, since heat-wave afternoons are when a tight panel trips.
Can I get an LADWP rebate for a home EV charger and a second meter?
LADWP pays up to $1,000 for a qualifying Level 2 charger, up to $500 more for Senior/Disability Lifeline or EZ-SAVE customers, and $250 for a dedicated EV meter. The permit must be finaled before the rebate is paid. Confirm current terms on the LADWP rebate page before you buy.
How do I permit an EV charger with LADBS, and is it Express?
LADBS lists simple residential EV chargers on its Express Permit list, so there is no plan review and the permit can be issued online. A charger that also needs a panel upgrade can move to plan check. LADWP asks you to file its Residential EV Charger Request Form first.
I rebuilt in the Palisades. What panel and conduit should I install for underground power?
The City's guidance for owners who rebuild is a combination service panel with direct-buried conduit to the street. LADWP recommends this but does not require it. Pacific Palisades is moving to underground power in phases. Ask your LADWP representative which phase your street is in before you pour or trench.
My 1930s Los Angeles bungalow still has old wiring. What does a service upgrade involve?
An electrician checks the wiring in the house, replaces the panel and service equipment, and pulls an LADBS permit. After final inspection LADWP sets or reconnects the meter. About 28 percent of the city's homes were built before 1950, and older bungalows can still have ungrounded circuits or cloth-covered cable.
Send a photo, get a range.
Share your ZIP and a photo of your panel. Your request goes to a licensed partner electrician, who contacts you.
Get this quoteAurion Electric is a referral service operated by Roviq LLC. Electrical work is done by a licensed partner electrician.
