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LADWP briefs committee on LA100 plan; stresses transmission and in‑basin generation for reliability
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Summary
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power told the City Council Energy and Environment Committee on June 17 that reaching the city's LA100 goals will require large new renewable procurements, transmission buildouts and retaining dispatchable in‑basin generation to preserve reliability during prolonged low‑renewable periods.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials updated the City Council Energy and Environment Committee on Tuesday, June 17, on the agency's LA100 strategic plan to reach 100% clean energy by 2035, saying the utility must add renewable power purchase agreements, expand transmission into the LA Basin and retain some dispatchable in‑basin generation to prevent blackouts in extreme events.
The presentation by Nermina Rucic O'Neil, Director of Power System Planning at LADWP, and Arash Saeedi, Director of Regulatory Compliance, summarized recent procurements, transmission projects and distributed‑energy work and described risks to the timeline, including supply‑chain and federal policy uncertainty. "Dispatchability is very important to LA Basin," Rucic O'Neil said, noting that long‑duration stressed periods require firm generation when renewables and short‑duration storage are unavailable.
The LA100 study produced by the U.S. Department of Energy's NREL and local modeling identified several pathways to decarbonize. LADWP said it expects to be roughly two‑thirds carbon‑free by the end of 2025 and projected it will need additional large renewable procurements and transmission capacity to meet an 80% renewable target by 2030 and 100% by 2035. Rucic O'Neil highlighted recent additions including the Milford Solar power purchase agreement and an extension at Heber geothermal; she said those two actions together add about 5% toward LADWP's renewable portfolio standard. She described a major solar-plus-storage facility in the Mojave region (referred to in the presentation as a regional renewable hub) that will add hundreds of megawatts of solar and long‑duration storage.
LADWP described a set of planned transmission projects, including a Victorville corridor project the utility said would add roughly 450 MW of import capability and is targeted to come online in 2029, and a separate, longer corridor project that could add substantially more capacity. "We are working on 41 transmission projects in various phases," Rucic O'Neil said, calling transmission buildout "a very important" part of enabling renewables for the LA Basin.
Officials also reviewed efforts on the distribution side: energy efficiency programs that LADWP says have lowered retail sales about 15% from 2010 to 2020, continued expansion of rooftop solar programs and new proposals to scale solar-plus-storage and EV infrastructure with federal funding. Saeedi said LADWP's equity work will guide who gets priority for technical assistance and program funds and that LADWP had secured $48,000,000 in Department of Energy funding to expand rooftop solar and storage in underserved communities. "We were able to secure $48,000,000 from the DOE," Saeedi said.
Speakers emphasized that in‑basin, dispatchable generation remains necessary to avoid service interruptions in events such as prolonged atmospheric river events, heat waves or wildfire‑related transmission de‑energization. The committee discussion referenced the Scattergood generating station project (a new unit the utility describes as able to operate on a blend of natural gas and hydrogen) as a local resource intended to preserve reliability while enabling a larger renewable mix.
Officials acknowledged multiple risks that could slow progress: supply‑chain delays for transformers and batteries, tariff and inflation pressures, developer uncertainty tied to federal tax credits and the need for skilled labor. LADWP said it is recruiting to add staff, has identified contractors for major projects and will continue community outreach and equity planning to guide program rollouts.
LADWP told the committee it will publish a full LA100 modeling update and plan in summer 2025 and a rate‑impact update later in the year. Committee members asked for follow‑up on siting and timelines for EV charging hubs, the schedule to bring rooftop solar-plus-storage to homeowners without upfront cost, and the utility's rate and affordability analysis.
The committee received the verbal report; no formal action was required on the LA100 update at this meeting. LADWP staff said they will return with the written modeling results and additional program details this summer.
