Edison International 2019 Sustainability Report: Accelerating a Clean Energy Future

Jul 10, 2020 3:25 PM ET

Edison International 2019 Sustainability Report

Our vision is to lead the transformation of the electric power industry, focusing on opportunities in clean energy, efficient electrification, grid of the future and customer choice.

GOAL
Deliver 100% carbon-free power to customers by 2045

  • 2030 80% carbon-free1
  • 2045 100% carbon-free

OUR STRATEGY

At Edison International, we’re growing our business toward a clean energy future while adapting our infrastructure and operations to a new climate reality, striving for best-in-class operations, and providing superior value to our customers and shareholders. Our principal subsidiary, SCE, is focused on proactively addressing wildfire risk, cleaning the power system, helping customers make cleaner energy choices, strengthening and modernizing the grid, and achieving operational and service excellence. Edison Energy2 partners with leading commercial, industrial and institutional clients to help them navigate and manage three of the biggest challenges of today – cost, carbon and the increasingly complex choices in energy.

CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION

SCE operates entirely within the state of California, which has some of the most ambitious climate change and environmental goals in the U.S. SCE has state-mandated objectives to deliver 100% carbon-free power by 2045 – one of the most aggressive targets in the U.S. utility industry – and operates under the following state-mandated renewable and carbon-free retail sales targets for delivered power3:

  • By 2020 – 33% from Renewables Portfolio Standard4 (RPS)-eligible resources (achieved in 2018)
  • By 2030 – 60% from RPS‑eligible resources
  • By 2045 – 100% carbon-free

California has also committed to achieving a 40% reduction in absolute GHG emissions from 1990 levels by 2030 and 80% by 2050, with an additional goal of economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2045. Taken together, these sciencebased policies are broadly considered to be consistent with the ambitious aim of keeping global temperature increases below 1.5°C, as set out in the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C.

Achieving this will require a transformation, not only in how energy is produced but also in how it’s used. The changes required across the economy will be profound. Clean electricity powering increasingly efficient electric end uses is an important part of a cost-effective solution. We’re doing our part, developing infrastructure and advancing the technologies needed to support electrification across the economy. As California’s only investorowned electric utility without a natural gas distribution business, we are uniquely positioned to advance electrification initiatives.

To meet the state’s GHG emissions reduction goals, SCE is also advocating for a more aggressive retail sales target of 80% carbon-free power delivered to customers by 2030, going beyond the state-mandated goal of 60% RPS-eligible power delivered to customers.

WE ARE STILL IN

In 2017, Edison International underscored its commitment to fighting climate change by joining the We Are Still In campaign in support of the Paris Climate Agreement. We furthered our commitment in 2019 by participating in the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25) as one of 17 U.S. business delegates and by signing the Joint Labor Union and CEO Statement on the Paris Agreement to support a just transition of the workforce. 

1 California has set Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) targets that require California retail sellers of electricity to provide 60% of electricity sales from renewable resources by 2030, with interim requirements. (See California Public Utilities Code Section
399.11(a) and Section 399.15(b)(2)(B)
.) However, SCE’s own analysis indicates that California needs to have 80% carbon-free electricity by 2030 to affordably meet the state’s GHG emissions reduction targets. Thus, regulatory approval is required for SCE
to achieve this more aggressive target of 80% carbon-free electricity.
2 Edison Energy is not the same company as Southern California Edison, the utility, and Edison Energy is not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission.
3 See California Public Utilities Code Section 399.11(a), Section 399.15(b)(2)(B) and Section 454.53. SCE demonstrates its plan for meeting these and other targets through its Integrated Resource Plan and RPS Procurement Plan. Learn more about the
CPUC IRP proceeding and the CPUC RPS Program.
4 Eligible renewable resources are defined by statute and the California Energy Commission

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