Which California utility has the lowest average emissions rate, as well as the highest percentage of greenhouse-gas-free resources and the least amount of natural gas in their energy portfolio mix?*
That’s right, it’s PG&E.
According to the most recent data available from the California Energy Commission, a whopping 86% of PG&E’s resource mix comes from greenhouse-gas-free sources (which includes RPS, large hydro and nuclear) – and that’s nearly double the percentage of GHG-free resources in the mixes of other major California utilities. By comparison, SoCal Edison (SCE) is 46% GHG-free, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is 43% GHG-free, Los Angeles Dept of Water and Power (LADWP) is 45% GHG-free, and Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is 46% GHG-free. A statistical average of 20 of the major publicly-owned utilities (POUs) in California comes out to 48% GHG-free.
PG&E also uses the least amount of natural gas and unspecified sources in its resource mix. Just 15% of PG&E’s mix is gas + unspecified, compared to 54% at SCE, 57% at SDG&E, 36% at LADWP, and 54% at SMUD. The state average is 46% — three times higher than PG&E.
Additionally, PG&E has the lowest emissions rate in the state, according to estimates, at just .07 tons CO2e/MWh. Compare that with SCE at .23, SDG&E at .24, LADWP at .32 (which is the only one of the big five utilities in the state that still has coal in its portfolio), SMUD at .24 and the 20 POUs average at .28. When compared to the state-wide average of .23, PG&E’s bundled portfolio was less than one-third as emissions intensive.
“These new figures prove unequivocally that PG&E is the greenest utility in the state, and that’s a testament to the work that our members at PG&E do every day to provide safe, reliable and clean energy to millions of Californians,” said IBEW 1245 Business Manager Tom Dalzell. “We’re proud to be a part of the green-energy revolution here in California, and we hope that other utilities will soon follow in PG&E’s footsteps to help the state reach its ambitious clean-energy goals.”
More info available on the CEC website.
* The resource mix data is taken straight from the CEC 2018 Power Content Labels and may not add to 100% due to rounding.