Isaam Najm has a strategy for closing the Aliso Canyon gas fields. But it is definitely a long-term approach.
In fact, 10 years after the gas field blow-out released 109,000 metric tons of methane and other gases into the atmosphere for four months, the gas field is predicted to remain open through 2030 or longer. It is one of the largest gas storage facilities in the United States. It’s operated by Southern California Gas Co. to supply gas to refineries, power plants and others, and to stabilize natural gas prices for all customers.
Najm’s campaign, contained in his Aug. 1 California Public Utilities Commission comment letter, asks the state agency to increase the use of non-gas fuels, such as geo-thermal, wind and solar, to reduce reliance on the gas fields to the point they will no longer be needed.
Substituting renewable sources for natural gas is supported in part by the CPUC, advocated by environmental groups and included in state regulations that target electrification to reduce emissions from the combustion of natural gas that contribute to global climate change. But that kind of turn over will take years, maybe decades.
“If demand decreases, then the need for Aliso decreases,” said Najm, the former Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council president, current resident, and practicing civil engineer, boiling a complicated problem down to just a few words.
“So how do we reduce that demand?” he asked. “The answer is more non-gas based resources to provide energy; then demand goes down.”
Najm wants to ride the wave of what’s called “building electrification” cresting in California.
The movement is focused on home energy use, basically replacing natural gas water heaters, furnaces, stoves and clothes dryers with appliances that run on electricity. In 2019, Berkeley became the first U.S. city to ban gas lines in most new residences and commercial buildings. Since then, at least 50 California cities and counties have followed suit, including San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles and Irvine.
By 2030, the state ban on the sale of natural gas furnaces takes effect. Homes will be built with electric heat pumps that can warm or cool a building and act as a furnace and an air conditioner. The goal is to reduce climate-warming emissions that contribute to climate change. The changing climate is already making droughts drier and winds and fires fiercer. Many scientists point to climate change as one cause of the uncommon January fires that took 31 lives and destroyed more than 16,000 structures in Palisades, Malibu, Altadena and part of northeast Pasadena.
“Electrification not only has benefits from removing combustion from inside the home, but it also brings greater efficiency from energy used,” said Jeff Monford, a spokesperson for Southern California Edison.
Pushback has come from manufacturers of gas ranges, such as Whirlpool, and the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. In a response to proposed warning labels on such stoves or proposals for banning them, the trade group told Bloomberg News the focus should be on better stove-top ventilation hoods, not the cooking fuel.
Natural gas trade groups told Bloomberg that delivery of natural gas, including the infrastructure that provides it, is clean, safe, reliable and affordable. Forcing a change to electric induction stoves will drive up consumer costs, trade groups argued.
However, one recent study said 12% of current childhood asthma cases in the United States may be due to gas stoves used in homes. There is growing evidence that chemicals released by gas stoves — used in 40% of American homes — can worsen symptoms for people with respiratory problems, such as asthma, said Dr. Lisa Patel, a pediatrician and executive director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health.
Also, there are concerns that emissions such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide and fine particulates released when cooking with gas could contribute to childhood asthma cases.
Wesley Reutimann, deputy director of Active San Gabriel Valley, a nonprofit that advocates for healthier living, safe bike paths and roads, is also a father of two children, ages 7 and 10. His kids were a motivating factor for him to cut off all his gas and switch to portable electric induction hot plates for cooking. He also ditched the gas furnace and HVAC systems for an electric heat pump, and recently bought an electric clothes dryer.
“There has been quite a bit of research on indoor air pollution on stove use and childhood asthma,” Reutimann said. “Their lungs are still developing so we wanted to make sure the home environment was as safe as possible.”
George Vine completely electrified his home in Thousand Oaks, with a heat pump, electric water heater and clothes dryer. He also installed solar panels that run his appliances and lights, as well as charge his two electric vehicles. His electric bill last month was $5, he said. His gasoline bill? $0. The capital cost of his electrification was about $35,000, with most attributed to the solar panel system.
FILE — George Vine with his high efficiency all-electric HVAC system at his home in Thousand Oaks on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)Converting to a electric range costs from $800-$2,500; an electric dryer costs $500-$1,500; and an electric heat pump (to replace furnace and air conditioner) costs between $5,000-$12,000, according to MJP Electrical Experts, Inc., a company specializing in gas-to-electric conversions.
SCE offers heat pumps at no cost for qualified, low-income customers. Rebates are offered for other appliances through SCE and often through the manufacturer.
“There are so many reasons to do this. One, you are not putting more carbon into the atmosphere. And two, gas appliances pollute your indoor air,” Vine said. “Also, I’m saving a ton of money.”
He said living in a high-risk fire zone without gas lines or gas flames makes him feel safer. In fact, several Palisades and Altadena residents are rebuilding with all electric appliances. Not installing gas lines can knock $10,000 off the rebuild price.
Vine said switching to all electric may not save money if the rates for electricity continue to rise. That depends on the utility provider, he said. Reutimann, who noted Pasadena Water and Power’s prices are deemed much lower than investor-owned utilities, said gas prices spiked in the winter of 2022-2023, adding there’s no ceiling on gas rates.
Najm urged the CPUC to consider the examination of future non-gas resources that are growing in California to any decision-making on continuing to operate Aliso Canyon or closing it. In a December decision to keep operating, the CPUC said consideration of closure is possible if the facility drops below its average peak daily demand of 4,618 million metric cubic feet per day to 4,121. That is not expected to happen until at least 2030, the report said.
In essence, Najm is relying on thousands, maybe millions, of Southern California homeowners to go all electric and advance the needle to help Porter Ranch residents.
“I request immediate procurement of renewable resources to enable the closure of Aliso Canyon,” he wrote. “Expedited procurement of replacement resources for the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility benefits all California ratepayers through lower energy rates and cleaner air. Further, the closure of Aliso Canyon will eliminate more than 12,000 pounds of annual toxins and carcinogenic emissions that endanger the lives of the residents in the Aliso Canyon Disaster Area and all of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley.”
It’s a strategy also adopted by the Sierra Club that worked to get a bill passed to move part of a $120 million settlement paid out by SoCal Gas to help fund rebates for heat pumps and electric water heaters. About $40 million is available to San Fernando Valley residents within the Aliso Canyon Disaster Area, explained Nihal Shrinath, Sierra Club staff attorney.
“Electrification in geographies around the country is already affecting gas demand,” Shrinath said, adding that California utilities are seeing a 1% drop each year in gas demand.
“It’s a simple solution. I wouldn’t say it is a silver bullet. It will take time,” Shrinath added.
Can Najm crowd-source enough SoCal Gas users to switch to affect Aliso Canyon? That remains to be seen. But the state’s electric generation is moving toward renewable sources and moving away from natural gas. And Shrinath said consumer choices are also moving in that direction.
In a letter to the CPUC before the December decision, Mark Jacobson, civil and environmental engineering professor at Stanford University, said eventually this gas storage facility will become obsolete.
“Fossil gas use in the state is declining rapidly, and there is certainly no need for the large amount of gas stored at Aliso Canyon,” Jacobson wrote.
Related links
Aliso Canyon gas blowout near Porter Ranch led to dangerous pollutants near site, UCLA study finds Aliso Canyon gas storage facility to stay open for now, state body decides LA County judge approves $120 million Aliso Canyon gas leak settlement California’s move to induction stoves comes with advantages you might not know about Choosing a heat pump can be complicated. Here’s what to know | AP News
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