In short
- LADWP still offers retail net metering under its NEM Service Rider: when you export more than you use, the excess becomes a bill credit at your normal rate, carried forward to later bills.
- Credit left when service ends is set to zero: there's no cash-out and no annual true-up payment. Size a system to your use rather than beyond it.
- Because exports earn full credit, a battery adds backup power in an outage but much less bill savings than it does under SCE's or SDG&E's net billing.
- LADWP discontinued its Solar Incentive Program. The only incentive we found is the state's SGIP equity budget for low-income homes, which LADWP says is waitlisted with no guarantee of funding.
Rebates and incentives
No general LADWP solar or battery rebate (Oct 1, 2026). Low-income homes can join the SGIP equity waitlist ([email protected]).
Getting connected
Your installer applies on LADWP's Solar Automated Meter Spot site (ladwp.com/nem) and pulls an LADBS permit. Inspections by LADBS and LADWP come before the net meter is installed. Systems under 10 kW AC without a battery may get a fast track. LADWP doesn't publish a timeline.
LADWP home solar by year
From City of Los Angeles building permits (LADBS), issued through Sep 27, 2026.
| Year | Solar permits | With a battery | Battery share | Battery-only permits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (through Sep 27) | 2,644 | 610 | 23% | 346 |
| 2025 | 4,063 | 918 | 23% | 479 |
| 2024 | 3,217 | 718 | 22% | 403 |
| 2023 | 4,943 | 828 | 17% | 406 |
| 2022 | 4,776 | 839 | 18% | 276 |
| 2021 | 4,664 | 1,208 | 26% | 392 |
| 2020 | 2,794 | 640 | 23% | 319 |
Cities served
Sources
Checked at each utility's own pages on Oct 1, 2026. Rules and rebates change: confirm with the utility before you sign a contract.
About this data
- Counts are City of LA electrical permits for 1-or-2-family homes, by issue year: a permit means the work was approved, not that it finished. Revisions to an earlier permit aren't counted again.
- Solar sizes come from the permit's work description; batteries are found by keywords (battery, energy storage, Powerwall) because the data has no battery flag.
- LADBS doesn't record installer names or prices, so those figures aren't available for the City of LA.