DWP: “Shame On Us”

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has apologized for back-billing customers after NBC LA reported on the practice.

"I think it's important to recognize that when this happens -- when we have a very delayed bill or an erroneous bill -- we do act on it," said DWP General Manager Ron Nichols in an interview. "I realize in a few customers' case, not quickly enough. When we don't, shame on us. We should be doing a better job and we're working on that."

The DWP failed to properly bill several Los Angeles residents and small business owners, and in some instances threatened to cut off electrical service if they did not pay up.

LA City Councilman Dennis Zine, who called for an investigation on April 20 (PDF), said after the story broke, more people than he expected have reported instances of back billing.

"I'm very frustrated," said DWP customer Tiffany Johnson. "I was upset about just the amount of time and energy I had to expend for something that wasn't my fault. Even to this day, I still have no way of verifying what was mine, how much was accurately billed."

One of the largest instances of back billing happened to Matt Epstein. The owner of Sweet Harts installed a new electric meter when his Sherman Oaks ice cream and candy shop opened two years ago. He regularly paid his DWP bills, but in March he received a bill for $23,000 and a warning that his service would be cut off if he didn't pay.
 
The DWP suggested that he make up the shortfall by paying $1,000 per month for 23 months.

The explanation? He had been under-billed for 23 months.
 
"I just about fell off my chair," Epstein said. "I was very surprised and very upset."

The DWP processes more than 12 million bills per year, said Nichols, who e-mailed NBC LA a statement (PDF) after this story originally posted Monday afternoon.

The number of customers who experience delayed billing amounts to "about one-quarter of one percent," said Nichols. Delays might be caused by "field investigations, meter surveys or replacements, or situations where a meter cannot be accessed by a meter reader."

"The examples cited in the KNBC story were not in any way representative of this extraordinarily favorable rate for on-time billing," Nichols wrote.

In Canoga Park, an entire collection of stores was not billed for a year.
 
"Several of our tenants, after many calls to DWP, finally got billed last week," said Rickey Gelb, owner of the Shops at Vallarta on Sherman Way.
 
Gelb's tenants were "offered an easy payment plan," he said. "The comments from DWP is that they are overwhelmed with applications and are very far behind."
 
"We regret these situations when they occur and will work with any customer who has experienced a delayed bill to successfully resolve the matter in as fair and compassionate a way as possible," Nichols wrote in his e-mailed statement.

A new bill format scheduled for release in May "will provide better and clearer information to our customers regarding amounts due, historical usage information and other useful features that will make identifying a delayed bill easier," Nichols wrote.

If you have concerns over your bill, you can contact DWP here.