California needs policies to protect communities moving to renewable energy

In 2018, California laid out an ambitious goal to transform the state’s energy system. A bill called SB 100 mandated that utility companies generate all of their electric power using zero-emission energy sources by 2045.

As a result, companies like Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric are hoping to work with consumers and the state to replace gas appliances with electric ones.

However, a new report by researchers at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability suggests that — unless the state’s electric grid is fully converted to use energy from solar, wind and other renewable sources — electrifying appliances would have only a minimal effect in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.