Sacramento, CA — In a written decision today, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) denied a SoCalGas application that would have charged customers $266 million to fund the controversial Angeles Link Project pipeline. This decision means that SoCalGas will either drop the project entirely or require shareholders to pay to develop the risky project. The Angeles Link would transport hydrogen fuel, a volatile and expensive energy source, from Southern California into the Los Angeles Basin. Sierra Club, California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA), and others have criticized the project for its enormous costs. SoCalGas’ estimate to perform just one phase of the project’s overall planning ballooned from $92 million to $266 million between 2022 and 2024. Additionally, green hydrogen requires huge quantities of dedicated renewable energy to create. That same energy could be used much more efficiently by directly replacing fossil fuels in end uses. Sierra Club and CEJA also challenged SoCalGas’ plan to charge gas customers for this project even though they would not directly benefit from it. The CPUC’s proposed decision says SoCalGas failed to identify specific benefits to its ratepayers and that it would be premature to approve costs while the project is still in the planning phase. This development complicates the already contentious proposal to convert the Scattergood power plant to hydrogen combustion, a project that was given initial approval by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power last year. In response, Sierra Club’s Senior Campaign Organizer Julia Dowell released the following statement: “The CPUC has done its job to protect ratepayers today. The Commission is right to recognize that SoCalGas’s proposal would expose customers to significant financial harm—before even accounting for the potential environmental and safety concerns. We applaud the Commission for finalizing this decision and ensuring that the risks of hydrogen infrastructure are borne by shareholders, not by working-class households already facing rising energy costs.” About the Sierra Club The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
Liked by Samuel Hall, Sarah Moreau
Liked by Samuel Hall, Sarah Moreau
Liked by Samuel Hall, Sarah Moreau