One San Fernando Valley family received a harsh reminder that keeping cool in Los Angeles can come with an extraordinary cost.
Micah Reed said he was shocked after the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power issued him a September utility bill of roughly $3,300.
Reed, who lives with his wife and two sons, said in a social media video that he kept the thermostat set to 74 degrees throughout August so his “family wouldn’t melt.”
“Am I powering the entire crypto mining grid of the San Fernando Valley, or did LADWP just decide that I pay my mortgage twice this month?” Reed said.
The video drew nearly 1 million views and thousands of responses from Angelenos who said they had faced similar concerns over high electricity bills.
Reed later started a petition demanding “an independent audit and summer rate relief.”
He maintains that air conditioning is a basic health and safety necessity during San Fernando Valley summers, when temperatures can climb above 100 degrees.
“Yet, because of LADWP’s aggressive tiered pricing system and opaque pass-through charges, residents are effectively penalized with a massive ‘Heat Tax’ just for trying to avoid heatstroke,” he wrote.
The petition urges City Controller Kenneth Mejia to order a public, independent review of LADWP’s rate calculations, tiered pricing structure and pass-through charges, including the Energy Cost Adjustment and Incremental Reliability Cost Adjustment.
“Living in Los Angeles is already unaffordable enough. Running an air conditioner shouldn’t force families into debt,” Reed added.
It also seeks higher Tier 1 and Tier 2 electricity-use thresholds from July through September, arguing that households should not be pushed into the highest penalty rates for essential cooling during triple-digit heat waves.
Reed is additionally calling for flexible monthly billing, limits on sewer and sanitation add-on charges during periods of extreme heat, and interest-free payment plans for residents facing unusually high summer utility bills.
The petition also asks LADWP to suspend utility shutoffs for residents struggling to pay sky-high summer bills.