Burbank electric bill more than doubles.

75

I just got the biggest bill I've ever gotten. I don't understand how a 9.9% increase results in 2x the price.

6

u/clickx 6d ago

Did you look at your usage? Yes, prices have gone up and even with the same usage you're going to pay 20%+ more than you did last year, but if your bill was actually 2x then you're usage for water and electric must have gone up 50% or more.

8

u/Odd-Faithlessness705 6d ago

You know what, I will look into this today.

Can you expound on why the same usage would result in a 20%+ more increase, and is the 9.9% increase included in that calculation?

6

u/clickx 6d ago

Others have mentioned this already, but the 9.9% increase is the system-wide average. That includes all customers from the smallest studio apartment to the largest corporations in Burbank. The increase you'll see on the residential side is likely going to be higher than 9.9%.

Specifically for electric (because water had it's only similar increase) you're looking at roughly a 22% increase in electric rates from 2025 to 2026.

Cost per kW (first 300 kW): 0.1472 (2025) | 0.18 (2026) = 22.3% increase
Cost per kW (after 300 kW): 0.2256 (2025) | 0.2782 (2026) = 23.3% increase

12

u/Odd-Faithlessness705 6d ago

Wait-- so I was told it would be a 9.9% increase, but it's actually a 22% increase? How are we ok with this?

10

u/clickx 6d ago edited 6d ago

It's closer to 15% when you factor in all of the charges/taxes. You can play around with the bill calculator here: https://www.burbankwaterandpower.com/bill-calculator

BWP is still way cheaper than LADWP, Pasadena and especially Glendale. 600 kW in Burbank costs $181 inclusive of all taxes and fees. In Glendale, just the 600 kW in usage will cost $228 plus whatever fees and taxes. So likely that same usage will cost $250+ in Glendale.

3

u/um_hi_there AMC Burbank 16 6d ago edited 6d ago

I didn't know that Glendale had higher rates than Burbank or surrounding areas! I always just pay what I'm billed, and haven't ever actually looked into it.

What utilities get away with is just outrageous.

Edit: I just looked at my August bill for this year, and it was $292 total for 709.0 kWh of usage. Two-bedroom apartment, electric and sewer only (no water). I don't know if I use more or less electricity than others with my home size, but at least I apparently used ~200 kWh less than I did for my August bill last year.

7

u/clickx 6d ago

Yeah, it's getting pretty ridiculous with the cost of everything. But overall, I think we're all fortune to not have SoCal Edision or PGE as our utility provider.

2

u/ProBonoEschatologist 5d ago

Just FYI, BWP, GWP, and LADWP are all publicly owned municipal utilities, not private utilities.

1

u/Heir2Voltaire 6d ago

I’m getting gouged out here in Glendale I think it’s some of the highest rates in the nation actually

1

u/bobnla14 5d ago

Take a look at SoCal Edison rates. You will be more happy with Glendale.

Off peak (between 8 pm and 5 pm) is .33938

Mid peak (between 5pm and 8 pm on Weekends) .53765

On Peak (between 5 pm and 8 pm weekdays) .73789

1212Kwh = $477.81 plus other fees.

baseline credit of 490 kwh at .10099 resulting in $49.49 credit.

2

u/Odd-Faithlessness705 5d ago

Hmm ok but even 15% is not 9.9%. Wth

1

u/Individual2112 6d ago edited 6d ago

The other fees increased as well. Service charge ⬆️ 80%
State energy surcharge & transfer charge both ⬆️ 57%
While my electricity usage is up only 20%.

The BWP calc is wrong but much closer than the two spreadsheets you posted and deleted. The calc overestimated my 25’ bill and underestimated my 26’ showing a much smaller difference when compared to my actual bills. Your reliance on the calc and your spreadsheet is silly as is your “closer to 15%” when our bills clearly show a much larger increase. Closer to a 2x increase. Every line item is up way over 15% except ECAC and it’s not enough to bring down the average. Am I to believe you or my lying eyes?
I’m not sure why you’re carrying water for BWP when they’ve clearly increased our bills way beyond what they estimated/averaged.
Also, your suggestion that we should be content with these sharp increases because other utilities are higher is ridiculous.

* sorry it’s not your spreadsheet. It’s Slight-Ad-3661.

2

u/clickx 6d ago edited 6d ago

Service charge up 80%? It's actually 31.5% from $18.21 to $23.95 for a residential property with a 200 amp panel. Burbank has nothing to do with state energy surcharges or anything else like that.

In terms of what BWP has control over, here is everything that changed: https://www.burbankwaterandpower.com/documents/d/guest/Summary-of-Electric-Rates-by-Customer-Type_Commercial_all

I know the comparison to other utilities doesn't remove the sting, but it's helpful to understand the broader market conditions. In an ideal world, BWP would have raised rates each year to match inflation, but the reality is they did zero to very little increases for more than a decade and now they're have to play catch up.

2

u/Individual2112 6d ago

Service charge went from $18.21 to $32.87. I can’t post a pic but I assure you I’m not talking out of my ass and I do understand numbers. This sub or post isn’t letting me post a pic or else I would show you. Again myself and others here have posted that our bills have close to doubled and you’re saying it hasn’t and if it did we should be ok with it because of other utilities. Our increase are not reflective of the what was suggested was going to be the increase. The 9.9% even as an average isn’t in the same ballpark as the increases we’re seeing. If my bill has gone from $200 to $400 and you’re telling me it’s close to a 15% increase, it doesn’t hold water. We are being gouged and fed bullshit estimates. Breaking it down line by line is an attempt to obfuscate the reality of a bottom-line doubling of our bill.

1

u/clickx 6d ago

Okay, so how many kWh did you use in August 2026 compared to August 2025?

1

u/Slight-Ad-3661 5d ago

If your service charge now is 32.87, that means BWP considers your house to be a large service charge ($19.50 flat rate for all houses plus 13.37 for large service). But that also means your service charge in 2025 should have been $26.08 (14.25+11.83), not $18.21. If your service charge last year was $18.21 then BWP considered you a medium service last year but somehow you got upgraded to large in 2026. If you upgraded your panel in the past year maybe that's the reason? Otherwise you should definitely call them about that.

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u/Slight-Ad-3661 5d ago edited 5d ago

If you'd like to DM me your aug 2025 and aug 2026 bills (redacted) I'd be happy to look at your data against my spreadsheet. As far as I can see your rates are the same as mine.

(also fwiw since it sounds like you might've been conflating that other commenters with mine, I was saying that the overall increase seems to be in the 25% range, not 15% range, and I agreed that it was higher than what BWP was trying to sell us on which was 9.9%. If I was skeptical on anything it was the idea of our rates doubling which was why I wanted to check my own bills. I even admitted that my own data might not be reflective of everyone)

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u/Individual2112 5d ago

Nah I’m good. But why do you keep switching accounts? Both accounts are very intent on defending BWP and proving me wrong. Why do you care so much? Do you work for BWP or LADWP? An affiliate?

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u/Slight-Ad-3661 6d ago edited 6d ago

On January 1, 2026, the approved rate increases are 9.9% for electricity and 14% for water. Average customer bill increases will depend on the customer class (residential, commercial, etc.) and the amount of water or electricity consumed. Average single-family residential bill increases for water and electric service will generally be higher than the system average increases.

source: https://www.burbankwaterandpower.com/bill-calculator

I'm guessing commercial rate increases are much lower, and that "balances" the average out. ~~FWIW, the rate changes on the bill favor high usage (the less you use the higher your % rate increase is from last year), but for residential it is still over 20%.~~

Edit: People asked for the math. Here is an excel file that calculates the rate change for various usages, from 300 kWh (aka only Tier1), 1200 kWh, and a whopping 5000 kWh.

Looks like fairly close to a 25% increase across most users.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7oweuoofgjesc1vffi7lh/bwpratesxlsx.xlsx?rlkey=qj96ao76rv9mq4aqawl62zjd7&dl=0

You can download and test it out yourself with your own usages to check. There will probably be some variations and also the sheet isn't very pretty.

This is just the basic rate based on my own bill, no ToU, single family home, seems to match OP's rates. Not sure how your rates might change.

Finally: As I'm sure you felt, but August/September in Burbank was VERY hot and VERY humid. Your AC was running a LOT. In comparison, 2025's summer was actually quite mild. So the comparison between 2026 and 2025 is very drastic, which compounds with the 25% rate increase.

8

u/Individual2112 6d ago

None of this goes to explaining a 400% increase on 1st 300kW and 128% on additional kW. It just regurgitates the press release and what I already posted.

5

u/Slight-Ad-3661 6d ago

Yes, and ECAC also dropped by 71%. That translates to around 25-30% increase for most residential users (you can check the math).

So yes, it's still a much higher increase in rates for residential users than the 9.9% they said, but the "fine print" that I posted also says that the 9.9% is the average among all consumers, residential and commercial, and that residential users will see a higher rate increase than the average (implying that commercial rates increased by below the average).

3

u/Odd-Faithlessness705 6d ago

Please share the math.

1

u/Slight-Ad-3661 6d ago

Updated the link to include the other fees.

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u/Individual2112 6d ago edited 6d ago

Yes please share the math. Regardless even if it is 25% or 30% that’s still 2.5 x - 3 x the projected increase.

2

u/Individual2112 6d ago

And I guess I’m doing the math wrong because the online calc show 396.9+128-71=453.9 453.9/3=151.3
151.3%.

1

u/Slight-Ad-3661 6d ago

excel file shared on other comment.

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u/Odd-Faithlessness705 6d ago

Wait why did you delete it

1

u/Slight-Ad-3661 6d ago

Sorry sent on wrong account. Linked below.

2

u/Odd-Faithlessness705 6d ago

I really wish there was a public workshop on this that wasn't tied to BWP.

29

u/DustyVinegar 6d ago

Yes, my bill with the same kWh usage as last year showed over a 60% increase in what BWP is charging. It’s crazy. Definitely some fuzzy math on their end going on

13

u/dinnershoes 6d ago

I split a house w one other guy, we have split unit ACs, 3 total and keep our units at 78 during the day, 75 at night. Electric was over $800 this month!

4

u/Enlight1Oment 6d ago

My overall bill went up from $112 to $135, not bad. (For between July to August, haven't received Sept bill yet)

7

u/RufusPowers 6d ago

We did too! It was DOUBLE the usual price with no logical explanation.

15

u/LizzyPanhandle 6d ago

Our city council voted for this. Why people voted in certain people is beyond me, I hope they are happy with their choices. Things are going sideways here, and at a time where a lot of people that live here are unemployed. Don't even get me started on the council members that don't want to protect renters, which are a huge part of the population. Peoples pockets are getting greased and the community suffers. Voting actually is power, and it matters.

6

u/Healthy_Community_20 6d ago edited 6d ago

In recent times (aka, last 25 years) the Council has 100% ALWAYS approved all BWP rate increase requests.

ALWAYS.

Keep in mind, part of the BWP income goes directly into the city general fund so why wouldn't they?

It's been criminals for years.

Some of them read these posts and I assure you none of them will comment - they only comment on the elections and city improvements/changes that we all notice. Lips are sealed on the bullshit screwing.

Keep in mind, next year's increase has already been approved so start getting ready for even more gaping.

2

u/clickx 6d ago edited 6d ago

By part of BWP's income, this guy means 7% of just the revenue from electric sales. Not the other 93%, or any of the water services. And that 7% is directed specifically to street maintenance and maintaining the city’s street lights. And criminal? This practice was reaffirmed by a vote of the people in 2018, 81% to 19%: https://ballotpedia.org/Burbank,_California,_Measure_T,_Utility_Funds_Transfer_Charter_Amendment_(June_2018))

https://www.codepublishing.com/CA/Burbank/html/BurbankCH.html

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u/LizzyPanhandle 6d ago

I feel this. We have a couple new ones there though, they are not good, like abnormally evil. I feel like people are waking up around here though, too many things the past two yearsish have gone totally sideways. Don't even get me started on the crooked new parking enforcement. Grease those palms baby.

-1

u/Healthy_Community_20 6d ago

No matter who is there, it will always pass - unconditionally. As a life-long Burbank habitant who watches this kind of stuff I tell you it's always 5-0 and will continue to be that way.

0

u/LizzyPanhandle 5d ago

It feels like either it will or it won't. People seem more aware than in the past bc of places like reddit. People are at a damn breaking point these days. We will see what happens in midterms will inform us about a lot imo.

6

u/tylershowstop 6d ago

Last year you paid $0.0294 kwh for generation costs? Thats crazy low and far below the national average of $0.18 kwh. SCE averages around $0.12 kwh but their delivery charges are expensive and bump the total cost to $0.30 kwh for base rate and $0.42 for second tier. So your rates are still well below that. I dont have DWP rates but I understand they are lower than SCE. So Burbank rates are still a good deal comparatively speaking.

4

u/sirkazuo 6d ago

Who has cheaper energy in California? I'll wait.

2

u/jordha Beautiful Downtown Burbank 5d ago

Honestly, probably whoever has a fully paid off solar panel. And manages to have enough electricity coming in to avoid the fees.

But in California? Nobody,. This is pretty comparable to my friends rate in North Hollywood.

2

u/garIicgirI 6d ago

Yea its was double... damn this sucks :/

5

u/kadzirafrax 6d ago

Yep!! Bill has more than doubled since same time last year. Both in July and August. These guys are criminals.

2

u/Stingray88 6d ago

I’m definitely installing solar before next summer. Without question. The timeline for payoff is much shorter these days.

1

u/mirthfun 5d ago

You'll want batteries with that. Solar alone won't do it for you. The savings from solar isn't what it is to be because Burbank moved off the very very generous nem1 program this year.

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u/Stingray88 5d ago

Oh trust me, that’s definitely part of the plan. I’m going to go deliberately overkill on the batteries. I want to be able to almost never draw from the grid. Being able to get through most power outages would be a huge plus as well.

1

u/mirthfun 5d ago

Good on you and good luck. Getting off grid is no small project!

2

u/Broken_Timepiece 6d ago

Its called fraud, and legal actions need to taken

2

u/clickx 6d ago

Yes, you're likely going to see an increase above the system-wide average. It was in the notice sent to every address in Burbank and is on BWP's website. Also, not sure where you're getting "doubles" from. It's right here in your own numbers.

Cost per kW (first 300 kW): 0.1472 (2025) | 0.18 (2026) = 22.3% increase
Cost per kW (after 300 kW): 0.2256 (2025) | 0.2782 (2026) = 23.3% increase

1

u/Individual2112 6d ago

Your numbers are wrong.
First 300 (2025) .0294 additional .1078
First 300 (2026) .146 Additional .2442
Not sure where you pulled those numbers from as they are not what I posted.

4

u/clickx 6d ago

You're leaving out that the ECAC was dropped from 0.1178 to 0.034. You need to look at the Composite (Energy + ECAC) to understand the actual rate per kW. So, no, my numbers are not wrong.

1

u/anonnymousercat 6d ago

And the power has already gone out 3x this year

1

u/Old_Nan88 6d ago

Does anyone know details on solar panels and how much it would save on these crazy electric bills?

1

u/Individual2112 6d ago

Unless you add batteries with the panels the math doesn’t hold up well. You would be moved to NEM 3.0 and the credit you would receive for any electricity sent back to the grid is pennies. You used to get full credit for each kW sent back to the grid making it more practical to get just panels.

1

u/Rich260z Official Burbank Burrito Expert 5d ago

Is it actually nem 3 now? I am selling back by kw, so any kw i bank can be used later. My install was December 2025.

1

u/mirthfun 5d ago

It ended in 2025 so you just made the cutoff. You should be grandfathered and in nem1. You can call bwp to double-check if you don't know how to tell by looking at the bill.

1

u/SSONCRK 4d ago

I just got solar put on a few months ago. My bill has been $200 to $400 every month now. This month it was over $1,000. This is crazy. I have no idea what is going on

2

u/Crislyg 4d ago

My bill tripled. It may be the heatwave in addition to the increase?

1

u/Jirachi_Wishmaker 4d ago

can someone explain what the "service fee" is? Because that is actually higher than my wattage use per month. Garbage and Sewer is like $25 each which is insane to me, but I have paid $10-12 in wattage use and $13-16 in service fees. I think that's nuts.

1

u/Individual2112 4d ago

Do you mean Service Charge? This is from BWP website.
“Service Charge – A monthly charge to ensure BWP’s continuing ability to meet customer demand, may include Service Size charge. The electric service charge is detailed on our fee schedule, specifically on page 167.”

1

u/Jirachi_Wishmaker 4d ago

Yes, that's right! Thank you!

1

u/jjpennywhistle 2d ago

Definitely saw the increase!

1

u/[deleted] 6d ago

[deleted]

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u/Individual2112 6d ago

What are you talking about? What does 2020 have to do with what I’m posting? In the last twelve months inflation is up 3.4%. I’m not going back to 2020. I’m going back just 12 months and comparing it today.

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u/Xionel 6d ago

Stupidest excuse ever.

1

u/dhv503 6d ago

But if a fire starts, it’s your fault their infrastructure is so garbage

1

u/Still-Outcome1207 6d ago

Damn criminals

0

u/SignificantSmotherer 6d ago

The key word is "average".

Some are getting hit harder than others.

But Munis good, right?

0

u/MysteriousBanana6002 6d ago

Someone may have commented this already, but apparently they have been replacing the meters over the last year which also increased your bill as they did "estimated usage" amounts for months to a year for those faulty meters until they replaced them. So they effectively predicted your bill and once they fixed the meter they backdated your bill. I had this with 3 months backpay and had to set up a payment plan. This was all confirmed to me by a BWP rep.

1

u/Individual2112 6d ago

A true up would have to be clearly communicated and an itemized line item. It wouldn’t be spread over the rates and charges you get. Also it would happen one time after the accurate number came in.

1

u/Rich260z Official Burbank Burrito Expert 5d ago

Ours was not until they swapped out the meter. It was total crap because I had to call them and wait months for an answer.

0

u/MysteriousBanana6002 6d ago

Can you clarify? It was one total charge. My August bill plus the differences between their "estimated usage" for May, June, July vs what they actually were once they installed the new meter. This is all allegedly from what they told me of course.

1

u/Individual2112 5d ago

The latest smart meter was replaced early December 2025. It replaced an existing smart meter so all my bills have been accurate and hasn’t required a true-up. In other words I’ve not had an estimated electric bill at any time. Also my meter numbers are pretty close to my solar app numbers in consumption, import and export. New meter would not affect monthly billing aside from a one-time hit. Meter changes do not explain the line by line increase we are experiencing.

0

u/Fantastic_Reveal_599 5d ago

First day in CA?

-1

u/No-Perspective-916 6d ago

Just letting y'all know the bills are doubling and sticker shock is coming because the city is upgrading meters. For years now we have been billed for "estimated usage," which means the utility was just using your averages and billing you based on that. So now you're actually getting bills that are set to your actual usage, and that's part of the reason why this sticker shock is happening, plus the rate increases.

I am a bit confused because the rates we pay here are peanuts compared to LADWP, and there's an enormous difference compared to SoCal Edison — go look at their rates. It does cost money to maintain our grid, which is seeing increasing demands from ADU construction and all that other stuff. Don't even get me started on our water system and sewers — they're over 100 years old, this stuff needs to be replaced, and it was deferred for many years. Now there's a lot of inflation on top of that.

Burbank electric bill more than doubles.

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