Iconic LA deli’s eye-watering utility bill exposes ugly affordability crisis in California

Read the original at New York Post ↗
New York Post · collected 2026-10-14 · by Richie Greenberg

Quick Summary

Canter’s Deli in Los Angeles received an unusually high utility bill, nearly $10,000 more than usual, raising concerns about the state's affordability crisis. The deli attributes this to rising electricity costs, while the LA Department of Water and Power claims increased water and sewer charges due possibly to a leak. The article criticizes California’s green energy policies for driving up utility rates beyond national averages, affecting businesses like Canter’s that rely on consistent energy use.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-14, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

The iconic LA deli Canter’s reported a staggering $10,000 increase in its utility bill, raising concerns about the affordability crisis in California. According to the California Post, Canter’s attributes this spike to rising electricity prices, while the LA Department of Water and Power claims that higher water and sewer costs are actually responsible, suggesting there may be a leak. Despite these explanations, Jacqueline Canter asserts that the deli has made no operational changes since it opened 95 years ago. This incident highlights the mounting pressures on small businesses in Los Angeles due to rising utility costs and other challenges like neighborhood taxes and homelessness.

Written for “Affordability Crisis In California” on 2026-10-14, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.65, but every quote it verified points right, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 78212: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-10-14

Story

📰 Affordability Crisis In California
Economy/Business · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.

Cite this article

Greenberg, R. (2026, October 14). Iconic LA deli’s eye-watering utility bill exposes ugly affordability crisis in California. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/13/opinion/la-delis-utility-bill-exposes-californias-affordability-crisis-again/

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
42
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
2 of 42 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
67/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Economy/Business
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-14 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 9968 article(s) · 30 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 30 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Richie Greenberg
1 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The LA Department of Water and Power says that water and sewer costs, and not electricity, are the issue with the deli’s higher bill — suggesting a leak might be to blame for the bill spike.
The only article under this byline in the corpus.

Topics

California Canter’s China The LA Department of Water and Power the California Post

Subjects

California GPE · 6× Canter’s ORG · 4× Canter PERSON · 1× China GPE · 1× Jacqueline Canter PERSON · 1× Sacramento GPE · 1× San Fernando Valley GPE · 1× The LA Department of Water and Power ORG · 1× United States GPE · 1× the California Post ORG · 1×

Narrative

If the taxes and the homeless problem in the neighborhood weren’t enough, now LA and California want to make it impossible for places like Canter’s to meet their bottom line.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-14
🔮 The LA Department of Water and Power says that water and sewer costs, and not electricity, are the issue with the deli’s higher bill — suggesting a leak might be to blame for the bill spike.

Claims (42 extracted, 2 hedged)

At that price, you’d think they were mining bitcoin, not slicing corned beef. asserted
they → think → beef
According to the California Post, Canter’s says its new utility bill is nearly $10,000 higher than it was in the past. uncertain
it → accord → past
Sign up for the California Morning Report newsletter The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now. Thanks for signing up! asserted
Sign → sign → California
If the taxes and the homeless problem in the neighborhood weren’t enough, now LA and California want to make it impossible for places like Canter’s to meet their bottom line. asserted
places → want → line
Canter’s blames rising electricity prices. asserted
Canter → blame → prices
The LA Department of Water and Power says that water and sewer costs, and not electricity, are the issue with the deli’s higher bill — suggesting a leak might be to blame for the bill spike. uncertain
leak → say → spike
However, Canter’s is not buying it: “We’ve done nothing differently than we’ve done now for 95 years, yet our bill has skyrocketed,” Jacqueline Canter said. asserted
Canter → buy → years
Typically, rising bills are not one-off misfortunes or rogue utility glitches. asserted
bills → rise → ?
Green energy costs more. asserted
energy → cost → more
Even when it looks cheaper, it depends on massive subsidies. asserted
it → look → subsidies
And it does nothing for the planet. asserted
it → do → planet
Not when China is pumping out coal no matter how many lights go out in LA. asserted
lights → pump → LA
Policymakers treat reliability and affordability as optional extras, while chasing ever-more-ambitious renewable targets. asserted
Policymakers → treat → targets
The state’s average electricity price hit 27.63 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2025, more than double the national average. asserted
price → hit → average
Commercial customers like Canter’s, which keep refrigerators, ovens, and HVAC systems running around the clock, cannot simply absorb these inflated rates. asserted
which → keep → rates
They pass them on to customers, or they fail. asserted
they → pass → customers
Legislators in Sacramento have spent years piling mandates on top of mandates. asserted
Legislators → spend → mandates
Renewable standards have escalated toward a 100% carbon-free electricity goal by 2045, shifting energy grid costs onto non-solar customers. asserted
standards → escalate → customers
Oh, and when it comes to “zero emissions,” only wind and solar seem to count. asserted
wind → come → emissions
Forget about nuclear power, which barely hangs on in California, even though it’s the logical answer and the technology keeps getting safer and better. asserted
technology → forget → California
Sure, utilities are also facing wildfire liability costs. asserted
utilities → face → costs
They’re also paying for infrastructure upgrades to prevent fires from starting in the first place. asserted
They → pay → place
But these costs have been layered atop a system already distorted by policy choices that prioritize symbolic decarbonization over consumer well-being. asserted
that → layer → being
California is getting crushed by the highest or near-highest retail rates in the continental United States. asserted
California → crush → States
These are increases that have outpaced most other states. asserted
that → outpace → states
Businesses do not get to opt out of the ideology; they get thumb-screwed to pay for it every month. asserted
they → get → it
You pay, or you fail. asserted
you → pay → ?
That’s it. asserted
That → ’ → ?
The damage is not confined to one deli. asserted
damage → confine → deli
Across Southern California, residential customers are reporting bills that have doubled or tripled. asserted
that → report → bills
That includes a San Fernando Valley household hit with a roughly $3,300 charge, a staggering increase. asserted
That → include → charge
Most restaurants already operate on thin, single-digit profit margins. asserted
restaurants → operate → margins
They can’t afford double-digit increases in their utility bills. asserted
They → afford → bills
But when rates jump 40% in a mere few months, owners cannot raise pastrami prices to cover it. asserted
owners → jump → it
That would drive away customers. asserted
That → drive → customers
The green ideological premium is the additional weight that drags viable business operations into loss-making territory. asserted
that → drag → territory
Canter’s is simply the latest high-profile example of a shocking pattern that has hollowed out commercial corridors statewide. asserted
that → hollow → corridors
And it’s entirely preventable, if California just allows fossil fuels and nuclear to compete on a fair basis. asserted
fuels → ’ → basis
Government officials have offered investigations, data requests, and expressions of concern, but the underlying policy architecture remains intact. asserted
architecture → offer → concern
Ratepayers continue to fund the transition, whether or not the promised benefits materialize on the promised schedule — or at all. asserted
benefits → continue → schedule
…and 2 more, not listed.
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