Senate Committee Unanimously Approves Home Energy Choice Act
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A bill that gives households the option to receive a financial incentive to electrify their homes instead of utilities defaulting to replacing aging natural gas service lines passed unanimously (11-0) out of the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications.
The California Home Energy Choice Act (AB 2313), authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman, would require the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to create a program by January 1, 2028, where gas corporations offer customers a monetary incentive (funded by the money that would have been spent on a $20,000+ pipeline replacement) to permanently discontinue gas service and switch to clean electric alternatives.
The following is a statement from Kiki Velez, lead of the equitable gas transition work at NRDC:
“Californians are one step closer to real energy choices and cleaner air as AB 2313 gets closer to final passage. Replacing aging gas pipelines shouldn’t be automatic, and this commonsense bill should pass the legislature and land on Governor Newsom’s desk without delay.
“Picture this situation: a customer’s gas pipe is replaced with no notice, and then they leave the gas system within a few years, and all customers are left paying those wasted costs for decades. This is exactly what the Home Energy Choice Act solves for. This bill offers customers facing a pipe replacement the opportunity to leave the system at the precise time when it will save money for everyone else.
“It also gives customers the safest option for their home, which is removing the risks of gas use and gas leaks entirely by going all-electric.”
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).