UPDATE: The calculator described below has now disappeared from the LADWP website. Information about the A-1 rate for small commercial and multi-family is still on the LADWP website. You will have to do your own math to see if the rate will save you money.

Here’s how to figure out if your association can benefit from the A1A rate discussed in the accompanying article, The Secret Rate that May Lower Your Common Area Electric Bill.

This information is specific to LADWP customers. However, due to the 2003 CPUC ruling discussed in the accompanying article, similar rate options should be available in other parts of California.

1. Find a typical electric bill for your HOA’s common areas. On the third page of the printed bill, look for the Rate Schedule in the blue box. If it says A1A, you already have the commercial rate. Congratulations! However, if it says R-1 and R1(i) Residential Electric or something similar, go on to the next step.
2. Find the section on your bill that tells you the Demand kW and the Energy kWh. If you are using a printed bill, it should be in the large blue box on the third page.
3. Then go to LADWP’s  website for the commercial power calculator: https://rates.ladwp.com/commercial_energy_a1a.aspx Put your bill’s total for Energy kWh in the space for monthly energy usage and Demand KW in the space for facility demand. Fill in the dates for the bill. Hit “Calculate.”
4. Compare the number for Total Cost with what you paid for that month. Slap hand to forehead if appropriate.
5. Savings will be higher in the summertime, when higher Tier 3 rates are in effect for residential users. Take bills from different times of year and run them through the calculator to see if it saves you in the wintertime, too.
6. If it looks like there is a significant difference between what you paid and what the calculator says you would have paid under the A1A rate, then email LADWP’s Rates Department at Rates@ladwp.com with your account number and ask them to calculate whether the A1A rate is beneficial for you. LADWP will calculate the last three months bills and tell you what you would have paid. (The on-line calculator may not be absolutely accurate, so this step is important.)
7. If the A1A rate is better for you, ask the Rates Department to make the change, effective immediately. Be patient, though. Although the effective date remains the date stated in the email from the Rates Department, the savings may not show up on your bills for a couple of billing cycles. 
8. Be aware that once you make the change, you may not be allowed to change back. If you later decide to do electric vehicle charging off the common area electric panel rather than individual unit meters, it may be particularly important to use a demand modulation system that keeps electric usage from spiking, as spikes may make this rate less favorable.

If you try this, let me know what happened! I will post an update