Thursday, December 13, 2018: Great news from the California PUC decision that was finalized today: the Commission approved a set of pilot programs to move 1,600 households in low-income communities in the San Joaquin Valley off of costly and polluting fossil fuels (propane and wood), leapfrog over gas, and fully electrify their homes.
As background: Many cities and towns in the San Joaquin Valley were never connected to the gas system because they are so small and far away from existing transmission lines that the expense was prohibitive. Recent legislation authorized the Commission to fully rate-base the cost of extending gas service to these areas -- but also included a provision allowing the Commission to consider "other alternatives" to lower residents' energy costs. We seized onto that clause, and over the course of the last four years have worked with NRDC and other allies to persuade the Commission that fully electrifying homes (with heat pump space and water heating plus induction cooking) and installing energy efficiency measures would save more money for residents, be cheaper for ratepayers as a whole, and of course be far healthier for people and the climate.
Today, the Commission agreed and approved electrification pilots in 11 communities. (One additional town will be connected to the gas system, and two of the eleven will be connected to gas if SoCalGas can fund half of the extension cost, which I think is likely). The pilots will be implemented over the next year and will all be free of cost to the residents. If all goes well, similar programs will be rolled out across the San Joaquin Valley in the coming years.
We're very excited about the decision because electrifying buildings is a necessary and somewhat overwhelming component of achieving California's greenhouse gas reduction goals -- and with this program, the Californians who were last in line for the fossil fuels of the 20th century get to be the first to benefit from the clean, efficient technologies that will be key to our clean energy future.
Check out Campaign Rep Rachel Golden's blog for more information.