1 David Yakobson
From: Diane Forte <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2024 8:28 AM
To: councilmtgitems
Cc: Ariana Vito; Thomas Wong; Joshua P Torres; Rick Valte Subject: Support Agenda Item 10. B. Energy Performance Approach Reach Code Attachments: SCE Support Letter Item 10 B. - Santa Monica Reach Codes Sept 10 2024.pdf
EXTERNAL
Please see aƩached Southern California Edison’s LeƩer of Support for Agenda Item 10. B.
Diane Forte
Government Relations Manager
SCE Corporate Affairs
Local Public Affairs
310.310.5262
1721 22nd Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404
[email protected] | @SCE_DianeF
Item 10-B
September 10, 2024
Item 10-B
September 10, 2024
September 10, 2024
Re: Support of Agenda Item 10. B.
Dear Mayor and Members of the City Council,
I am writing on behalf of Southern California Edison (SCE) to express our enthusiastic support for tonight’ council agenda item 10. B. First Reading Local Amendment Ordinance to the 2022 California Energy Code for Energy Performance Approach Reach Code for new Construction and Adoption of Resolution. An Energy Performance Approach Reach Code ordinance can be a very cost-effective way for local governments to achieve meaningful greenhouse gas reductions and help achieve climate and air quality goals. We strongly encourage the City of Santa Monica to adopt a strong Energy Performance Approach Reach Code ordinance with as few exemptions as possible. SCE offers the following points in support:
1. In order to meet the state’s climate goals, SCE’s Countdown to 2045 analysis shows that 95% of all building space and water heating must transition to electric appliances by 2045.
2. Modern electric technologies are very efficient and are often demand response capable.
3. Analysis shows that higher performance standards are a cost-effective way to reduce GHG emissions through improved building energy efficiency.
4. SCE is modernizing our distribution system, making more than $5 billion in investments every year to improve reliability and resiliency – the grid is ready to support increased adoption of electric technologies.
5. Our efforts to strengthen the grid and add energy storage are paying off as evidenced by the state’s ability to avoid rotating outages during recent years’ record-setting heat waves.
6. California Assembly Bill 1279 requires direct GHG emissions reduction of 85% by 2045. Source energy, introduced as a new carbon metric in the 2022 California Energy Code, has been proven to support the state’s 2045 GHG reduction and decarbonization goals.
Buildings are a major source of emissions in California – for both local air quality and greenhouse gases.
Buildings consume almost as much natural gas as the electric sector. Importantly, buildings have decades-long lifespans, so when they are built with fossil fuel infrastructure, multiple decades of additional fossil fuel emissions are locked in.
SCE is modernizing and hardening our distribution system, leveraging increasingly sophisticated hardware and software to manage a complex and intelligent grid. This will not only enable greater adoption of clean energy technologies, but it will also improve general reliability while making the grid more resilient to threats exacerbated by climate change such as wildfires and heatwaves. We are investing approximately $5 billion annually to modernize the grid to support the clean energy future.
Our efforts to strengthen the grid are paying off. With climate change, more extreme weather, including more intense and longer heat waves, are expected in the coming decades. SCE, in partnership Item 10-B
September 10, 2024
Item 10-B
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with state energy regulators, has prioritized and will continue to work on a variety of solutions to address the region’s long-term reliability needs. For example, SCE now has approximately 7,200 MW of battery energy storage owned or under contract, ready to serve our customers—one of the largest portfolios in the country. And we plan to add even more in the coming years.
All-electric new construction is not only cost-effective to build and operate, but will also offer exponential GHG reductions in the years to come. There are many affordable, clean, efficient allelectric options for water heating, space heating, clothes drying, and cooking, all of which can be powered by carbon-free electricity. Studiesshow that the lifetime costs for all-electric homes are either the same as, or less expensive than, mixed-fuel homes for a large majority of Californians. Additionally, since GHG reductions increase with time, reductions from all-electric buildings will increase as the grid transitions to zero-carbon electricity by 2045.
SCE is excited and ready to partner with the City of Santa Monica in addressing the climate crisis.
Emissions from the building sector are an important focal point if we are to meet the city’s and state’s climate goals. We strongly urge the City Council to adopt 10. B., the Energy Performance Approach Reach Code ordinance. We look forward to our continued partnership. The future is electric.
Sincerely,
Diane Forte
Government Relations Manager
Attachments:
Reliability FAQ
SCE Reach Codes Resources
Item 10-B
September 10, 2024
Item 10-B
September 10, 2024
1 David Yakobson
From: Climate Action <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, September 9, 2024 2:29 PM
To: councilmtgitems; Caroline Torosis; Christine Parra; City Council general box; Gleam Davis; Jesse Zwick; Lana Negrete; Oscar de la Torre; Phil Brock Cc: John Zinner; Kent Strumpell; Judy Abdo
Subject: Tues 9/10 Item 10.B,
Attachments: Letter to Council ZE Reach Code 9-10-24.pdf
EXTERNAL
Please accept this letter in support of Item 10B
Item 10-B
September 10, 2024
Item 10-B
September 10, 2024
September 8, 2024
Mayor Brock and Councilmembers,
The Climate Action Santa Monica (CASM) Steering Committee and Advisors strongly support the adoption of September 10 City Council agenda item 10.B, First Reading Local Amendment Ordinance to the 2022 California Energy Code for Energy Performance Approach Reach Code for New Construction and Adoption of Resolution. The purpose of the Reach Code (a code that goes beyond the California Title 24 Building Code requirements) is to minimize the post-construction climate impact of new buildings. Buildings are responsible for 25 percent of California’s and 30 to 40 percent of national greenhouse gas emissions. Minimizing building carbon is, therefore, critical to abate the impacts of climate change.
As Council knows, Santa Monica’s Zero Emission (ZE) Building Code, which required that all new buildings be all-electric, was withdrawn because The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that, under Federal law, it is illegal to ban the use of natural gas. The City’s ZE Reach Code was adopted to partially implement the City’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan’s goal of adopting carbon-neutral construction codes for new residential, commercial, and multifamily properties.
The proposed Energy Performance Approach (EPA) Reach Code would replace Santa Monica’s ZE Reach Code with requirements that conform to the Federal Court decision because it uses a performance approach that doesn’t forbid the use of any energy source. Instead, all new buildings would have to outperform the Title 24 performance requirement. The thresholds are designed to encourage the installation of additional electric systems and appliances. The EPA Reach Code would also require more electric ready infrastructure in new buildings than required by Title 24 in order to minimize the cost of future electrification.
CASM is all too aware that the proposed EPA Reach Code performance thresholds would legalize the use of natural gas for some, building systems, which would make it more difficult for the City to achieve its goal of an 80% reduction in carbon emissions below 1990 levels by 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2050. We trust that the Council and City Staff will look for opportunities to further reduce the use of natural gas in new buildings.
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Sincerely,
Thank you,
Laurene von Klan, Co-Chair
Kent Strumpell, Co-Chair
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Item 10-B
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