Energization - California Climate and Energy Collaborative

Barrier 4: Energization

Barrier Statement

Rural and tribal lands face significant barriers to grid connectivity, with some homes waiting years for connection.

How communities are experiencing this barrier

View the details on what communities have shared with SLECC from across the state.

Key challenge discussed in - San Diego, Statewide

High Grid Connection Costs Make Energization Unaffordable. Extending lines or upgrading infrastructure often carries prohibitive costs for Tribal and rural communities, making grid connection financially inaccessible.

Illustrative example: In some Tribal regions, the cost of bringing clean energy infrastructure to remote homes can reach $400,000 per connection, making widespread deployment infeasible without substantial subsidies.

Key challenge discussed in - San Diego, Statewide

Severe Delays in Initial Grid Connection for Tribal and Rural Communities.
Homes in Tribal and unincorporated rural areas often face multi-year delays for first-time grid connection, leaving residents without basic electricity and undermining resilience and equity.

Illustrative Example – At the Los Coyotes Reservation some households have waited more than four years for initial connection to the SDG&E grid, leaving homes without electricity for extended periods and highlighting inequities in utility service delivery.

Key challenge discussed in - Statewide

Lack of Clear Accountability for Serving Remote Communities. Participants noted confusion and gaps in responsibility between utilities, state agencies, and regulators regarding who is responsible for ensuring timely energization in rural and Tribal areas.

Key challenge discussed in - San Diego

Equity and geographic isolation: Reservations are often located away from population centers, which makes utilities less willing to invest in distribution lines and makes energy infrastructure more costly and less prioritized by the state

Key challenge discussed in - San Diego

Unique sovereignty and governance challenges Tribes have a distinct legal relationship with the federal and state governments, often misunderstood by agencies. This misunderstanding complicates efforts to address energization barriers and requires tribes to repeatedly re-explain their context in state forums

Local Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by local leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

Local Solution

Advocating on behalf of unserved households to utilities and regulators. Local and Tribal governments described actively elevating individual and community energization cases to utilities and state entities to seek resolution of prolonged connection delays.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Statewide

Local Solution

Regional collaboration on interconnection – Small agencies and tribal entities called for regional governance structures to coordinate with CPUC and utilities, reducing delays and gaps in energization planning

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Diego

Local Solution

Community partnerships for resilience – Partner with tribal governments and trusted CBOs to connect households in rural/tribal areas with interim resilience solutions while waiting for utility grid connection

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Diego

State Solution Opportunities

SLECC stakeholders have brainstormed the following solution opportunities that can be taken by state leaders. Existing examples of progress or pathways to make further progress are highlighted if known.

State Solution

Identifying gaps in responsibility for serving remote communities. State agencies acknowledged unclear accountability among utilities, regulators, and agencies for ensuring timely energization of remote and Tribal homes. Identifying and clarifying responsibility was discussed as a state-level challenge.

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): Statewide

State Solution

Infrastructure upgrades – State-level investment in modernizing distribution lines in rural and tribal regions to improve reliability and reduce wait times

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Diego

State Solution

Incentivize distributed solutions – State should ensure utilities are financially rewarded for distributed resilience projects (microgrids, community solar, storage), not just centralized assets

Existing Examples of Progress:

Further Progress Pathways

Region(s): San Diego

Solution Spotlight

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