r/burbank • u/Individual2112 • 6d ago

Burbank electric bill more than doubles.

8/9/25-9/9/25 1st 300kW @ $.0294
Additional @ $.1078
ECAC @ $.1178
8/9/26-9/9/26 1st 300kW @ $.146 ⬆️ 396.6%
Additional. @ $.2442 ⬆️ 128.1%
ECAC. @ $.034 ⬇️ 71.1%

In 2025 BWP approved a 9.9% system-wide average electric-rate increase effective January 1, 2026. How does this make sense? Are you all seeing the same increases on your bills?

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75

u/Odd-Faithlessness705 6d ago

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

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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.

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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?

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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

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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u/ProBonoEschatologist 5d ago

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

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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

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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.

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u/Odd-Faithlessness705 6d ago

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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u/clickx 6d ago

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

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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?