Mayor Karen Bass Orders DWP Utility Shutoff Moratorium as Metro Mobilizes for 2028 Olympic Transit Framework

Mayor Karen Bass Directs LADWP Board to Pause All Residential Utility Disconnections

LOS ANGELES, California — Confronting widespread consumer distress following unprecedented late-summer heatwaves, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in late October 2026 issued executive directives instructing the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) Board of Commissioners to institute an immediate moratorium on residential utility shutoffs through the remainder of the calendar year. The intervention follows reports of electrical bills doubling and tripling across the San Fernando Valley, South Los Angeles, and Eastside neighborhoods as families ran continuous air conditioning during record-breaking temperature spikes.

Mayor Bass urged struggling Angelenos to enroll in municipal relief mechanisms, including Level Pay budget smoothing, the Lifeline discount program, and expanded EZ-Save debt subsidies, advising vulnerable residents to pay what they can afford while city auditors review billing algorithms and power generation fuel adjustments.

State of the Agency Address Previews Olympic Mobility Overhaul Across Regional Corridors

Concurrently serving as Chair of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) Board of Directors, Mayor Bass delivered her comprehensive State of the Agency address, outlining transformative mobility investments preparing Southern California for the upcoming 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Key milestones include accelerating delivery of dedicated bus-only lanes along heavy urban boulevards, deploying thousands of zero-emission transit buses, and expanding the Transit Ambassador program across rail stations to safeguard passenger security and cleanliness.

Regional transit executives emphasized that the capital investments being accelerated for international athletic games will leave an enduring legacy of fast, dependable, zero-emission mass transit connecting working neighborhoods to major employment centers.

Executive Directive 19 Accelerates Affordable Housing and Eliminates Grid Bottlenecks

To further address the regional cost-of-living crisis, Mayor Bass expanded Executive Directive 19, mandating accelerated inter-agency coordination between the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) and LADWP electrical engineers. The directive slashes utility connection review times for 100% affordable housing developments and commercial-to-residential conversions, unblocking thousands of stalled homes and expanding the city's permanent supportive housing supply.