Committee approves ordinance changes to expand virtual net metering for multifamily retrofits

The Los Angeles City Energy and Environment Committee on Sept. 16 approved an ordinance and accompanying recommendations to modify the Department of Water and Power’s (DWP) pilot virtual net metering (VNM) program to make it easier for multifamily retrofit projects to participate.

Committee Chair Adrienne Serian said the committee would take all items on the agenda by consent except item 3, which prompted a presentation and discussion. After the DWP presentation, Serian moved to adopt the recommendations in the chief operating officer’s report and to adopt the ordinance; Councilmember Padilla seconded the motion. The roll call recorded Councilmember Nazarian, Councilmember Jurado and Councilmember Padilla voting yes; two members were recorded absent. The motion carried and item 3 was approved.

The DWP presentation was led by David Drecorco, executive director of Distributed Energy Solutions. Drecorco said the proposed changes are intended “to make it easier for customers to participate” and to align the pilot with the city’s multifamily retrofit program. Michael Buck and a program manager identified as Any At Mía described how the VNM changes would work in practice.

Key changes described by DWP staff include lowering the project capacity threshold from 30 kilowatts to 10 kilowatts and expanding eligibility so multifamily retrofit projects that previously could not enter VNM can now participate. DWP staff said VNM requires that at least 40% of onsite solar benefits be allocated to tenants and that the ordinance introduces an additional incentive for projects serving disadvantaged communities: a $1-per-watt incentive available to qualifying sites. DWP staff illustrated the impact: a 10‑kilowatt system would qualify for about $10,000 under that incentive structure.

DWP staff tied the proposed VNM changes to the city’s Multifamily Retrofits program, which the presenters said began in May 2022 and has enrolled more than 20,000 units. Staff said approximately 130 buildings are currently in the Multifamily Retrofits pipeline, with seven completed projects and about 20 under construction; 87% of enrolled projects are in communities the city designates as disadvantaged. Staff estimated roughly 5,000 units could meet the program’s participation criteria, and said many projects take two to three years from application to completion because of the complexity of multifamily upgrades.

During public comment, Susy Shanen, policy director for Housing is a Human Right, urged faster utility connections for an adaptive reuse building she said has 94 vacant units that remain offline. Shanen also criticized fuel and utility costs more broadly in remarks to the committee.

DWP staff noted the proposed local incentives and rebates are primarily funded through DWP programs, city climate equity funds and state allocations; staff said incentives and rebates described are not dependent on federal action, though federal tax credits are subject to change at the national level.

The committee approved the ordinance and directed staff to proceed with implementation under the revised VNM rules. DWP staff said they will return with implementation details and next steps as projects progress.

The committee earlier approved the other agenda items by consent; the meeting record shows those consent approvals passed by a 3‑0 vote.