Sun Valley, CA · August 2022 · LADWP / LADBS
The project was fine. The payment was not.
A 13.20 kW DC system in Sun Valley on LADWP, with the service panel replaced. The application sat marked unpaid for two weeks — not because of the design, but because the expedite fee had been paid before the plan check payment could be completed.
A permit application can stall on the payment rather than on the review, and the portal will show it as unpaid without saying why.
At a glance
- DC System
- 13.20 kW
- AC System
- 11.89 kW CEC
- Modules
- 33 × 400 W
- Inverters
- 33 × Enphase IQ7+
- Service Panel
- 225 A (new)
- Roof
- Composition shingle
- Utility / AHJ
- LADWP / LADBS
- LADWP app → PTO
- 54 calendar days
The story
Thirty-three panels, a new service panel, an application filed the same day the drawings came back. Then two weeks of nothing.
The cause was the payment. The expedite fee had been paid first, and when the plan check fee came to be paid after it, the portal returned an error and would not complete the transaction. The application stayed marked unpaid.
The status was visible the whole time. What was not visible was the reason: the portal showed the application as unpaid but gave no indication that the payment was failing rather than simply outstanding, which from the outside looks the same as a contractor who has not got round to it.
It took the plan check engineer, the department's own IT desk and us to work out what had happened. The answer was a direct payment link that bypassed the broken step. Paid the same afternoon.
Everything after that ran normally: interconnection agreement approved in August, review closed a two weeks later, permission to operate at the end of the month.
The system itself is straightforward: thirty-three Hanwha 400-watt modules on thirty-three Enphase microinverters, 13.20 kilowatts DC and 11.89 AC-CEC, with the main service panel replaced by a 225-amp unit to carry it. The roof is composition shingle with a low-slope section where the modules are tilted south.
Fifty-four calendar days from application to permission to operate. Two of those weeks were a payment.
How it ran
| 6 July 2022 | Design brief issued |
|---|---|
| 8 July 2022 | Plan set received; interconnection application filed; expedite fee paid |
| 21 July 2022 | Plan check payment failure identified and cleared |
| 11 August 2022 | Interconnection agreement approved |
| 24 August 2022 | Interconnection review completed |
| 31 August 2022 | Permission to operate granted |
The 54 days run from the interconnection application to Permission to Operate, and cover permitting, review and utility processing rather than time spent on the roof.
What we did
- Filed the interconnection application the same day the plan set came back.
- Identified that the hold was a failed payment rather than a review issue.
- Escalated to the plan check engineer and the building department's IT desk.
- Cleared the payment through a direct link the same afternoon.
- Replaced the main service panel with a 225-amp unit (C-10 scope).
- Carried the application through interconnection review to permission to operate.
System specifications
| DC system | 13.20 kW |
|---|---|
| AC system | 11.89 kW CEC |
| Modules | 33 × Hanwha Q.PEAK DUO BLK ML-G10, 400 W |
| Inverters | 33 × Enphase IQ7PLUS-72-2-US |
| Service panel | Replaced — 225 A busbar, 200 A breaker, overhead service |
| Racking | IronRidge; modules tilted south on the low-slope section |
| Roof | Composition shingle and rolled composition, rafters 2×6 at 24 in on center |
| Battery | None |
| Utility / AHJ | LADWP / LADBS |
| LADWP application → Permission to Operate | 54 calendar days |
Is your project like this one?
- Your permit application has not moved and nobody has told you why.
- The portal shows a fee as unpaid and the payment button does not work.
- You paid an expedite fee before the plan check fee.
- Your existing service panel is too small for the system you want.
- Your Sun Valley property is served by LADWP, while permits are handled by LADBS.
Cali Energy in Sun Valley
Sun Valley sits inside City of Los Angeles boundaries, so every project here is permitted through LADBS and interconnected through LADWP. Our work in this ZIP code runs from single-row arrays on new accessory dwelling units to a 13 kW system on a replaced service panel, on composition shingle and on low-slope rolled composition.
Some of that work is straightforward. This one was, right up to the point where the permit portal would not take money in the order it had been offered.
This installation is on the Sun Valley projects page alongside the others, and what the work covers is set out on the Sun Valley service area page.
- License and classifications: CSLB #1032379
- Official reference for this process: LADBS — plan review and permitting
Frequently asked questions
Why would a solar permit application sit without moving?
Not always because of the design. On this project the expedite fee had been paid first, the plan check payment then failed in the portal, and the application stayed marked unpaid. The status was visible but the reason was not. A stalled application is worth checking against the fee record before assuming it is in review.
What is the difference between 13.20 kW and 11.89 kW on the same system?
They are two ratings of one array. The DC figure adds up the panel nameplates. LADWP works in AC-CEC, which it derives from the module count, each module's PTC rating and the inverter efficiency, and that figure comes out lower. No panels differ between the two numbers.
Why replace the main service panel for a solar installation?
This project included a service panel replacement: the house went to a 225-amp busbar with a 200-amp breaker on an overhead service. Whether a panel needs replacing depends on its rating, its condition and how much else the house is running, and it is established by calculation before the array is designed rather than after.
Does Cali Energy handle LADBS permitting in Sun Valley?
Yes. Sun Valley is inside City of Los Angeles boundaries, so permits run through LADBS and interconnection through LADWP. Following an application that has stopped moving — and finding out why — is part of the job rather than something the owner is left to chase.
What this would look like on your roof
Every number on this page came off a real job in Sun Valley, CA — not a brochure. Tell us your utility, your roof and what your bill looks like now, and we will model your own version of it before you commit to anything.
Or call +1 (323) 844-7777 · Cali Energy, Northridge · CSLB #1032379 (B, C-10, C-39) — design, permits, install and electrical under one licensed contractor.
Related
This timeline reflects this property and this permitting path. Updated September 2026.