How much California relies on imported natural gas might surprise you
Some California residents saw their natural gas bill increase 146% in recent months. Today, we look at the state’s reliance on natural gas and if there’s relief in sight during a cold winter.
Californians’ issues with gas prices aren’t just at the pump. Californians use natural gas to heat their homes, cook food, charge electric vehicles at night and make electricity. The cold spells this winter brought up demand for natural gas heating, which 70% of California homes require.
Capacity limitations in a pipeline flowing from Texas to the west put additional constraints on supply because the state imports about 90%-95% of its natural gas. Southern California’s supply comes from as far away as Texas and Louisiana. Gas can flow through the pipeline at about 20-30 mph.
Related: Here’s why your gas bills are so much higher right now
How much gas do we use?
California invests in renewable energy. The state produces the third-most (in 2022) megawatt hours of renewable energy behind Texas and Washington. But it is a glutton for the gas line as well. In 2021, U.S. total consumption of natural gas was about 30.66 trillion cubic feet.
The five states that consumed the most natural gas in 2021 by amount and percentage share of total U.S. natural gas consumption were:
1. Texas: 4.67 tcf — 15.2%
2. California: 2.09 tcf — 6.8%
3. Pennsylvania: 1.81 tcf — 5.9%
4. Louisiana: 1.75 tcf — 5.7%
5. Florida: 1.54 tcf — 5.0%
Production decline
California produced about 500,000 cubic feet of natural gas in the 1980s. It has steadily been declining in production. It dropped to less than 200,000 cubic feet in 2018 and was 133,136 cubic feet in 2021, which was about 7% of the state’s consumption needs.
The state’s Geologic Energy Management Division, known as CalGEM, rejected 109 fracking permits in 2021 after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2024 climate change deadline to end fracking in the state. Most of the permits were from Bakersfield-based Aera Energy.
Storage capacity issues
During the first half of 2022, natural gas pipeline deliveries from the Pacific Northwest into Northern California decreased by 5% compared with the first half of 2021, resulting in increased withdrawals from storage to meet demand. Natural gas deliveries from the Southwest into Southern California declined by 3%, according to data from PointLogic.
Related: SoCalGas wants to raise rates by 13% next year
The Aliso Canyon storage facility in northwest San Fernando Valley is the largest of the state’s 14 storage facilities, with a capacity of 86 billion cubic feet. After the disaster at the facility in 2015, its storage level was limited to 34 billion cubic feet. In November 2021, the CPUC decided to allow its working gas capacity, which supplies most of Los Angeles, to increase to 41 bcf.
Issues with the supply lines from out of state have had a greater impact on the state’s demand for natural gas.
Relief in sight?
Californians stung by high energy bills can expect to receive some relief after the CPUC voted Thursday to fast-track credits from utilities using state climate funds. Depending on their utility, customers will see $90-$120 deducted from an upcoming energy bill.
Natural gas pipelines in the West
The U.S. natural gas pipeline network is a highly integrated network that moves natural gas throughout the continental United States. The pipeline network has about 3 million miles of mainline and other pipelines that link natural gas production areas and storage facilities with consumers.
In 2021, this natural gas transportation network delivered about 27.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas to about 77.7 million consumers.
Problems with the pipes
Several of the pipelines have had outages because of repairs. One area, owned by Kinder’s El Paso Natural Gas, shut its pipeline in August 2021 following a deadly blast in Arizona. That outage took 450-500 million cubic feet per day of pipeline capacity out of the market.
Natural gas has a varied role in California. Nearly 45-50% of the natural gas burned in California was used for electricity generation. Much of the remainder is consumed in the industrial (25%), residential (21%) and commercial (9%) sectors.
In-state electric generation by fuel type
In 2021, natural gas was used to produce half the state’s electricity.
The information in the chart below is from the California Energy Commission. It is compiled from power plant data reporting and is based on metering at each power plant site and, therefore, does not account for the 7-8% loss attributed to transmission for delivery to the customer’s meter.
The chart below shows the supply trend for Friday, March 3, 2023. Energy in megawatts is broken down by resource in 5-minute increments.
Are they coming to take my stove?
In 2019, Berkeley enacted the country’s first ban on fossil fuel hookups in new buildings with a law that effectively made gas stoves off-limits for new residences. Other cities across the state followed.
In September, the California Air Resources Board unanimously approved a proposal to ban the sale of all new gas furnaces and water heaters by 2030. The regulation would require zero-emission alternatives like electric heating to be used instead. Stoves wouldn’t be affected.
New homes and buildings that are constructed in 2023 will have to have electric supply panels and circuitry to support all-electric appliances and heating under a building code approved several years ago by the California Energy Commission. The new building code doesn’t ban the sale of natural gas appliances outright — that will come in 2030 in a mandate from CARB that is designed to lower the carbonization of structures and improve indoor air quality.
Related: Here’s why your gas bills are so much higher right now
Sources: EIA, The Associated Press, SoCalGas, California Public Utilities Commission, California Energy Commission