CA gas utility infrastructure aging and expensive, study shows

(The Center Square) – California, like the rest of the country, is paying more to maintain its gas-powered utility infrastructure as the Golden State transitions to a more electrical-powered utility system, New research by U.C. Berkeley shows.

That research, published by the Energy Institute at U.C. Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, shows that nationally, gas utility lines are aging and getting more expensive. Many places choose to pay to replace them, which means digging up the street, replacing the pipeline and then paving over the new line. That can cost between $1 million to $10 million per mile, the research shows.

The professor who conducted that research, Meredith Fowlie, did not respond to The Center Square for this story.

In California, where private electric and gas companies dominate the utility landscape, records show it costs hundreds of milli...