The City of Los Angeles and FUSE are collaborating to boost the Office of Public Accountability (OPA)’s analytical capacity at a pivotal moment for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the nation’s largest municipal utility. LADWP is pursuing 100% clean energy by 2035, multi-billion-dollar water upgrades, deployment of millions of advanced meters, and rate redesign, all of which will shape what residents pay for essential services. As the City’s Ratepayer Advocate, OPA independently reviews LADWP budgets, policies, and rate proposals. OPA has recently rebuilt its team, launched new analyses, and expanded community engagement, and now needs additional capacity to keep ratepayer interests, especially those of low- and moderate-income households, seniors, and small businesses, at the center of its decisions.
Beginning in Fall 2026, FUSE Executive Fellow Peyman Pouryeganeh will spend 90 days with OPA leadership, LADWP, the Mayor’s Office, Council staff, consultants, and community stakeholders, reviewing budgets, LA100 modeling, meter plans, and affordability programs. Pouryeganeh will then lead two main workstreams: quantifying customer savings from advanced meter deployment and evaluating the effectiveness of LADWP’s affordability program portfolio and its access barriers. Along the way, Pouryeganeh will produce advocacy-ready analyses of investments and rate proposals and build repeatable tools such as evaluation frameworks and dashboards. By Fall 2027, OPA will have an advanced meter benefits framework, an affordability program assessment, rate impact analyses, standardized metrics, and knowledge-transfer resources to strengthen continuity for its small team.
