Politics · United States · 10 hrs ago
California law gives households cash option instead of a new gas line
California has passed a law giving some households a choice when their gas service line is due for replacement.
Utilities must offer those households either a new gas line or a financial incentive to switch to electric appliances.
The law was prompted in part by cases like Berkeley resident Merrian Borgeson’s: PG&E replaced her gas line even though she planned to stop using gas.
The cost of replacing lines is spread among gas customers, and Borgeson’s new line now sits unused.
The incentive will be less than the cost of replacing a line, so choosing electrification could save money for all gas customers.
The change supports California’s goal of a carbon-neutral economy by 2045.
The program is capped at 1% of a utility’s customers and is set to expire on Jan.
1, 2035, unless renewed.
California’s Home Energy Choice Act will require utilities to offer households scheduled for gas service-line replacement a cash incentive to switch to electric appliances instead of receiving a new gas line.
The incentive will be lower than the cost of replacing the line, with savings shared among gas customers.
The law’s programs are capped at 1% of a utility’s customers and are set to expire on Jan. 1, 2035, unless renewed.
The Natural Resources Defense Council estimated that PG&E customers could save $20 million if 1,000 households received incentives of $17,500 each instead of new service lines.
San Diego Gas and Electric and SoCalGas opposed the bill.
- Who
- California households scheduled for gas service-line replacement can choose between a new line and an incentive to electrify.
- What
- The Home Energy Choice Act requires utilities to offer that choice.
- When
- The law is described as new in an article published Oct. 12, 2026.
- Where
- California.
- Why
- The policy aims to reduce investment in gas infrastructure and help the state move toward a carbon-neutral economy by 2045.
Supporters of AB 2313
San Diego Gas and Electric and SoCalGas
Policy
Supporters of AB 2313
Supporters say households should be offered financial support to electrify instead of replacing gas lines, potentially avoiding infrastructure costs and saving customers money.
San Diego Gas and Electric and SoCalGas
The utilities opposed the bill; the article’s available text does not state their reasons.
Now, I have no gas in my house. But the customers all around me are paying for that pipeline for the next 50 years.
It’s this huge signal of where the state is headed.
When homeowners opt to electrify, the utility avoids additional investments in fossil fuel infrastructure that will eventually become a stranded asset, and this saves all ratepayers money long-term.
AB 2313 was a very difficult bill to get through the Legislature, so I’m very excited that it will soon give Californians the opportunity to decide what energy is powering their home and provide financial support if they choose to transition away from natural gas.
PG&E replaced Merrian Borgeson’s gas service line in Berkeley even though she planned to electrify her home and asked the utility not to replace it.
Canary Media published an account of the new law and its provisions.
The law is set to expire, though it could be renewed before then.
- Law
- Home Energy Choice Act, Assembly Bill 2313
- Program cap
- 1% of a utility’s customers
- Expiration date
- Jan. 1, 2035
- PG&E estimate
- $20 million in savings if 1,000 households receive $17,500 each instead of new lines
- PG&E service-line replacements
- About 15,000 annually
- California climate goal
- Carbon-neutral economy by 2045
Sources
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