California has some of the most aggressive policies in the United States for electrifying power in an equitable manner. Decommissioning gas infrastructure with electrification has the potential to, depending on the fuel mix, reduce greenhouse gases in line with state policies. Unfortunately, if not carefully planned, decommissioning gas infrastructure with electrification as a replacement has the potential to increase both electricity and gas rates, which in turn may have a disproportionate impact on low-income customers. In Southern California, decommissioning is particularly complex due to separate gas and electricity utilities, owned both by investors and municipalities.
Within this context, the project team asked: what is a community-level, stakeholder-informed, multi-disciplinary and objective analytical framework to identify locations in highly urban Southern California where gas decommissioning for service replacement with electrification can occur in a just, equitable, and cost-effective way? To answer, the project team used community engagement throughout the entire process. First, the team collected stakeholder decision criteria and equity concerns. Second, the team calculated costs and benefits of decommissioning with electrification as a replacement. Third, the team built a decision support tool and conducted public workshops to identify pilot sites.
The project team found that when decision-makers choose locations based solely on least cost, these locations do not necessarily reflect community priorities. When additional community priorities are considered, the resulting pilot projects for strategic decommissioning may not be the least-cost options and will likely require higher implementation costs. Furthermore, because of the price gap between gas and electricity at the time of this report, the selected pilot projects will lead higher total utility bills as a result of switching from gas to electricity, unless mitigation measures, such as solar panels, are implemented.
The research suggests that California may wish to adopt a three-step process as guidelines for decommissioning in Southern California. These proposed guidelines seek to 1) define project motivation and scope, 2) achieve buy-in from all stakeholders, and 3) conduct appropriate analyses. Following the spirit of these guidelines will help decision-makers decide how to balance what are sometimes competing priorities of greenhouse gas reduction, improved air quality index, the equity of decommissioning, and how to manage the cost. Achieving a just energy transition should be the goal of all stakeholders
