How LADWP executive salaries compare to other utility companies in Southern California

Following a heated board of commissioners meeting last week calling for a review of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's utility rate increases, and public concern over high staff wages, the LADWP has provided CBS California Investigates with the agency's updated 2026 executive salary numbers. 

In 2025, according to the California State Controller, one executive made more than $700,000, but LADWP says that employee has since been replaced, and its top executive is now making $626,274 a year. LADWP says its executives do not receive bonuses or overtime pay.

See the table below for all of the executive salaries at LADWP in 2026.  

LADWP tells CBS California Investigates that high supervisor and mechanic wages in 2025, dozens exceeding $600,000, were due to significant overtime. To see full wages paid to LADWP employees in 2025, click here: https://gcc.sco.ca.gov/Reports/Department.aspx?departmentid=348649&year=2025&utm_

In a statement to CBS California Investigates last week, LADWP explained that total overtime paid to over 13,000 employees accounts for 5% of LADWP's $10.8 billion total budget. LADWP added that labor costs are 18% of the agency's total budget. 

"The overtime reported in 2025 reflects extraordinary operational demands, including response and recovery efforts associated with the January Palisades Wildfires, major storm events, high-wind conditions, periods of extreme heat, the December atmostpheric river event, and other potential outage-causing weather incidents throughout the year," an LADWP spokesperson said in a statement to CBS California Investigates. "During these events, crews and supervisors often work extended hours to prevent outages, make repairs, restore service, and support emergency operations 24 hours a day. In the case of the Palisades Wildfire response, some staff worked weeks without a day off. The employees highlighted in these records belong to teams with key roles in those efforts."

CBS California Investigates compared LADWP's updated executive salaries with those of other utility companies in California and found that LADWP's executive salaries in 2026 are not as high as Southern California Edison's in 2025. SCE's 2026 numbers are not yet available.

Last year at SCE, the President and CEO earned an annual salary of $838,614 and a bonus of $628,872, while the SCE VP and COO earned $552,603 and a bonus of $346,981. Click here to see all SCE salaries: https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/-/media/cpuc-website/divisions/energy-division/reports/reports-on-utility-costs/sce-annual-go-77-m-2025.pdf

However, LADWP's executive salaries are higher than Glendale Water and Power's salaries were last year, a utility company that, according to two different independent studies over the last two years, has higher base rates than LADWP. Glendale's general manager makes only $296,710 a year, and the utility company's assistant general manager makes $284,770 a year, according to the California State Controller.

In 2025, the highest-paid employee at Glendale Water and Power was $455,101. See a full list of Glendale Water and Power wages by clicking here: https://gcc.sco.ca.gov/Reports/Department.aspx?departmentid=15776&year=2025

Burbank Water and Power's executive salaries last year were also lower than LADWP's, according to the state controller. The general manager earned $464,299, and the assistant general manager earned $306,778.

Riverside and Pasadena Water and Power's top executives also made less than LADWP's highest-paid executives, according to the state controller. 

However, farther north in Sacramento, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District paid its top executives more in 2025 compared to LADWP's 2026 executive salaries. The company's CEO and general manager made $1,102,219 in 2025 and the COO made $587,817, according to the state controller. 

LADWP also added in a statement to CBS California Investigates last week that the agency "continues to actively recruit and hire additional skilled workers to reduce staffing gaps and strengthen operational capacity." 

The agency provided an example: "A power system electric line crew foreperson takes a minimum of 4 years to train-- and overtime remains a necessary and cost-effective tool to ensure reliable service and emergency response capabilities while vacancies are filled. Overtime for employees who perform the critical work of providing essential water and power services to our customers, are used while we address hiring challenges inherent in a civil service process that can delay hiring and filling of vacancies."