The increasing electrification of modern life is part of a deliberate effort to respond to the ongoing climate crisis. This is because options are readily available for the production of electricity from renewable and zero-carbon primary energy sources; thus, avoiding the harmful emissions of greenhouse gases from fossil fuel combustion. The changing composition of the demand for electricity which electrification portends, however, is running headlong into challenges associated with the experience of increased high heat due to climate change. Extreme heat events exacerbate not only the demand for electricity but also can significantly compromise our ability to both generate and transmit it during times of need.

For LA residents, climate change is no longer a distant or abstract concept because its effects are already being felt throughout the region. During just the past three years, for example, several new record high maximum daily temperatures have been recorded in numerous LA neighborhoods, with Van Nuys experiencing 118 °F in 2018 and more recently, in 2020, parts of Woodland Hills enduring temperatures of 120 °F.