California Should Help Neighborhoods in Need ‘Decarbonize’ Leave Natural Gas

Source: CalMatters (TURN) |  By Jalal Awan

But two problems arise.  The first is participation bias. The commission’s docket system favors communities with the resources to engage in regulatory processes. The result: a map dominated by coastal, civically organized neighborhoods — leaving higher-burdened, inland and Central Valley communities out. The second problem is utility incentives. Utilities earn guaranteed returns on gas pipelines but face uncertainty with electrification. 

SB 1221 partly remedies this by requiring zero-emission alternatives only when they’re cheaper than gas, ensuring utilities are made whole, while empowering the commission to shut down gas segments when two-thirds of property owners agree to electrify.  SB 1221 offers a rare alignment of climate, affordability and equity. That promise will only be realized if regulators resist the path of least resistance and send neighborhood decarbonization first to the communities that need it most — and where it saves the most money.