Methane gas (“natural” gas) is a fire risk, a financial burden, and a health hazard—and rebuilding with it will lock Angelenos into decades of higher costs and greater danger.

• Fire risk: Gas pipelines can leak or explode during wildfires, fueling the flames and putting firefighters at risk. In the Palisades and Eaton fires, leaking gas worsened the disaster, forcing emergency crews to shut off pipes manually—a slow, dangerous process.

• Skyrocketing costs: California’s gas utilities plan to spend $43 billion replacing old pipelines by 2045. These costs will be passed onto customers, making gas bills even more expensive in the coming years.

• Health dangers: Burning gas indoors releases benzene and nitrogen dioxide, pollutants linked to asthma, heart disease, and even cancer. Studies show gas stoves produce air pollution levels comparable to secondhand smoke.

Switching to electric is a safer, healthier, and more affordable choice in the long run.

Switching from gas to electric means eliminating gas hookups in homes and equipping homes with cleaner, safer, and more efficient electric appliances. This includes:

• Heat pumps for heating and cooling

• Induction stoves instead of gas stoves

• Electric water heaters instead of gas-powered ones

But the biggest benefit comes when entire neighborhoods transition together. This allows utilities to shut down sections of the gas system, avoiding expensive maintenance costs and lowering bills for everyone. Cities like San Francisco, New York, and Seattle are already piloting this approach. Listen to neighbors in Oakland who decided to electrify together, all at once.

While electricity rates are rising, gas bills are rising even faster—and will keep going up.

People are already switching to all-electric appliances because of the benefits. The fewer people who use gas, the more expensive it becomes for those left on the system. This creates a “cost spiral”, where rates skyrocket to cover the price of maintaining pipelines for a shrinking number of customers.

Electric appliances, especially heat pumps, use far less energy than gas appliances, cutting overall energy bills. Plus, federal, state, and local incentives help cover the upfront costs of switching.

In the long run, electrification is the more affordable path.

There are major incentives and financial programs available to make electrification affordable, especially for fire-affected communities:

• Federal & state rebates cover much of the cost of heat pumps, induction stoves, and panel upgrades.

• Utility assistance programs help fund energy-efficient home upgrades.

• TECH Clean California provides additional grants and rebates for households making the switch.

• The Rebuilding Incentives for Sustainable Electric (RISE) Homes will offer $10,000 to $15,000 in incentives for building all-electric homes as well as pre-approved home designs to help reduce costs even further (this rebate is launching soon).

Check-out The Switch Is On to find rebates in your zip code. 

No one should be left behind in this transition. Going electric should be accessible for everyone, not just the wealthy.

California’s home insurance crisis is directly tied to increasing wildfire risks. Insurance companies are leaving the state or drastically raising rates in fire-prone areas.

Rebuilding all-electric with underground power lines reduces these risks by eliminating two major fire hazards:

1. Leaking gas pipes that can ignite during fires.

2. Overhead power lines that spark wildfires in high winds.

Fire-adaptive neighborhoods that cut out gas and bury power lines have a better chance of securing lower insurance rates and keeping insurers in the market.