LADWP vs SCE solar: why your utility decides the math in LA County
How to tell which utility serves your LA County property, how LADWP and SCE each credit the solar you export, and what that means for sizing and batteries.
Short answer
LADWP vs SCE solar comes down to one thing: which utility’s name is on your electric bill. Properties inside the City of Los Angeles are generally served by LADWP, a city-owned utility that runs its own net energy metering program. Much of the rest of Los Angeles County is served by Southern California Edison (SCE). New SCE solar customers are on the state’s Net Billing Tariff, which SCE calls the Solar Billing Plan and most people call NEM 3.0. Same roof, same panels, different utility: the value of the power you send back to the grid changes, and so does the right system design. Here is how to tell which one you’re on and what changes.
On this page
Step one: am I on LADWP or SCE?
Don’t go by your ZIP code or your mailing city. Los Angeles County is a patchwork, and two buildings on the same boulevard can be in different utility territories. The only reliable answer is the utility named on your electric bill.
As a rough guide:
- LADWP serves the City of Los Angeles, including San Fernando Valley neighborhoods inside city limits such as Sylmar, Pacoima, Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Northridge, Chatsworth, Reseda and Woodland Hills.
- SCE serves most of the county outside the city, such as Santa Clarita, Long Beach, Santa Monica, Culver City, West Hollywood and the City of San Fernando.
- Other city-owned utilities serve a few cities, including Burbank Water and Power, Glendale Water and Power and Pasadena Water and Power. Each one has its own solar rules, and neither the LADWP nor the SCE playbook applies there.
One more twist in SCE territory: many homes and businesses buy their electricity from Clean Power Alliance, a community choice aggregator, while SCE still delivers it. For new solar customers, Clean Power Alliance runs its own Solar Billing Plan for the generation side of the bill, and SCE’s Solar Billing Plan covers the delivery side (Clean Power Alliance). If your bill shows both names, you’re still in the SCE/NEM 3.0 group described below.
How each utility credits solar you export
This is where the two really part ways.
LADWP: its own net energy metering rider
LADWP is a municipal utility, so it isn’t bound by the California Public Utilities Commission decision that created NEM 3.0. Under LADWP’s net energy metering rider, a customer-owned system of up to 1 MW that mainly offsets your own load sends its excess energy to the grid, and LADWP credits that energy at your rate schedule’s energy pricing. Credits carry forward. They can’t pay taxes or minimum charges, and they apply only to the meter that recorded them.
LADWP also runs programs that SCE customers don’t have, including the Solar Rooftops roof lease and a Feed-in Tariff that lets larger projects sell their output to LADWP. Our LADWP solar programs and rebates guide walks through each one and who qualifies.
SCE: the Solar Billing Plan (NEM 3.0)
SCE customers who applied to connect solar after April 14, 2023 are on the Solar Billing Plan (SCE). Exported energy earns hourly Energy Export Credits based on what that power is worth to the grid at that hour. In practice, midday exports are worth little and evening exports are worth much more. Residential customers move to the TOU-D-PRIME rate. The CPUC also lets new customers keep their export values for nine years, and residential customers who apply before the end of 2027 get a small extra export credit.
For SCE’s published average export values by season and hour, see what SCE pays for exported solar under NEM 3.0.
Side by side
| LADWP | SCE | |
|---|---|---|
| Who sets the rules | LADWP (city-owned) | CPUC Net Billing Tariff |
| Program name | Net energy metering rider | Solar Billing Plan (“NEM 3.0”) |
| Export value | Your rate schedule’s energy pricing | Hourly credits; low midday, higher 4–9 p.m. |
| Rate for new residential solar | Your LADWP residential schedule | TOU-D-PRIME |
| Extra programs | Solar Rooftops, Feed-in Tariff, Shared Solar | Nine-year lock on export values; small bonus credit for residential customers who enroll before 2028 |
What changes in system design
Sizing
On either utility, a system sized to your actual twelve months of usage almost always beats one sized to fill the roof. On SCE the penalty for oversizing is steeper, because surplus midday power is credited at low hourly values. On LADWP the crediting is more forgiving, but credits that can’t pay minimum charges, and that disappear when service ends, still argue against building far more than you use.
Batteries
This is the biggest practical difference. On SCE, a battery that stores cheap midday solar and covers your 4–9 p.m. use is often what makes the numbers work. On LADWP, the case for a battery usually rests more on backup power and how your rate schedule is built than on export value. Either way, run it with your own usage. Our home battery cost guide for California covers current market pricing and incentives.
Load shifting
On SCE, moving flexible loads like pool pumps, EV charging and dishwashers into sunny hours means you use your own solar instead of exporting it for little. It helps on LADWP too, but the payoff is smaller.
Commercial buildings: same question, bigger stakes
For businesses the utility question matters even more. An LADWP building can offset its own load under net metering or, at 30 kW and up and if program capacity is available, sell all its output to LADWP through the Feed-in Tariff. An SCE building on the Net Billing Tariff faces the same midday-versus-evening pattern as homeowners, which pushes the design toward matching daytime load and looking hard at storage. The San Fernando Valley is where these territories meet most often. We cover that on our San Fernando Valley commercial solar page.
Watch out for generic solar quotes
Many solar proposals in Southern California start from a statewide template. If a quote for an LADWP home talks about NEM 3.0 export rates, or a quote for an SCE building assumes exports are credited the same way all day, the production model is built on the wrong rules. Ask any installer:
- Which utility and rate schedule did you model?
- How did you value exported energy, and where did those numbers come from?
- How much of the system’s output will I use on site versus export?
- Did you model the system with storage and without it?
Get a model built for your utility
Current Energy designs, permits and builds solar in-house from Sylmar, inside LADWP territory, and works across SCE territory in Los Angeles, Ventura and Orange counties. Send us twelve months of bills and we’ll model your property under the rules that actually apply to it. Call (888) 899-9484.
Not tax, legal or financial advice
This article summarizes publicly available utility rules as of October 2026. It isn’t tax, legal or financial advice. Confirm anything that affects a real decision with your utility or adviser.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if I have LADWP or SCE?
Look at the utility named on your electric bill. ZIP codes and mailing cities aren’t reliable in Los Angeles County, because city limits and utility territories don’t always match. If your bill shows Clean Power Alliance, SCE is still your delivery utility.
Is LADWP on NEM 3.0?
No. NEM 3.0, the Net Billing Tariff, is a CPUC decision that applies to investor-owned utilities such as SCE. LADWP is a municipal utility with its own net energy metering rider, and it can change its rules on its own schedule.
Is solar worth more on LADWP or SCE?
It depends on your usage, rate and system design, so there’s no blanket answer. The structure differs: LADWP credits excess energy at your rate schedule’s energy pricing, while SCE’s hourly export credits are low at midday and higher in the evening. That makes storage and right-sizing more important on SCE.
Do I need a battery with solar in Los Angeles?
Not necessarily. On SCE, a battery is often the main way to get value from midday solar under NEM 3.0. On LADWP, it’s more often a decision about backup power and your rate. Model both options with your own bills before you decide.
Last updated October 2026
Get a model built for your utility
Send us twelve months of bills and we’ll model your property under the rules that actually apply to it, LADWP or SCE.