Electric appliances are offering a chance to reduce indoor pollution for California homeowners affected by the 2015 Aliso Canyon gas leak, a disaster that displaced thousands of families. 

Homeowners can access $20 million to make those replacements.

Here's what to know

Eligible upgrades include heat pumps for heating and cooling, electric stoves, and water heaters. The funding is the first installment of a $40 million appliance-replacement program tied to the Aliso Canyon settlement, according to ABC7.

Multi-property owners will have to wait to participate. The program is open to single-family homeowners in the affected area, with additional assistance for certain residents who meet income requirements.

Evan Kamei, who directs TECH Clean California, an organization helping distribute the funding, pointed out the benefits of replacing aging household equipment.

The incentives "will help create healthier homes, lower energy costs, deliver cooling, and create local jobs by replacing aging gas appliances with efficient electric appliances," he said, per ABC7.

Rooftop solar can also help lower household electricity costs. For Southern California homeowners, Palmetto offers a $0-down option with an average 40% reduction in electric bills, though individual savings vary.

More background

For more than 100 days, emissions escaped from the failed Aliso Canyon storage well. The total included methane and other substances weighing almost 100,000 tons, according to ABC7.

Residents near the San Fernando Valley had to leave their homes because of the leak, which also caused headaches, nausea, and nosebleeds.

About 35,000 plaintiffs received compensation for reported personal injuries and property damage through a settlement reached in 2021. The agreement between thousands of families, the gas utility, and its parent company was worth up to $1.8 billion.

Rising global temperatures and extreme weather are among the consequences of methane's ability to trap heat in the atmosphere.

Gas appliances also pose risks inside the home. Gas stoves, used by 47 million Americans, release nitrogen dioxide, which has been linked to asthma, along with cancer-causing benzene.

What's being done?

Residents who meet income limits and were affected by the leak can receive up to $31,800 toward electric installations, according to ABC7.

Copper, a California-based company that makes induction stoves and ovens, joined the program after Energy Solutions identified obstacles to changing cooking appliances, according to co-founder Weldon Kennedy. Its models plug into regular outlets, avoiding the rewiring costs that a switch to electric cooking often requires.

Carol Kamei, the 72-year-old mother of Evan Kamei and a settlement plaintiff, lived near the facility for 46 years, ABC7 reported. She wants to use the settlement funding to swap her current oven for an electric model.

"I'd rather not use gas," she said.

For homeowners also weighing rooftop solar, Palmetto's Southern California offer could extend those savings further. The $0-down option is tied to an average 40% drop in electric bills, a reduction that could add up to thousands of dollars in savings each year.

Where can I learn more?

Beyond Aliso Canyon, replacing gas appliances has spurred rebate programs and debates over replacement rules across California.

• A California homeowner learned rebates could more than halve a $7,000 tankless water-heater quote.

• California's push for 6 million heat pumps starts with training HVAC instructors.

• California's expanded rebates offer free help accessing incentives for EVs, chargers, heat pumps, and farm equipment.

• Bay Area officials guiding a gas water-heater ban mostly still use gas themselves.

• California's gas water-heater rule drew letters generated by AI that some purported authors denied approving.

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