Garcetti announces decision to forgo plans to rebuild coastal natural-gas plants

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Tuesday announced plans to scrap updates to three coastal natural-gas power plants in favor of replacing the aging turbines with clean, renewable energy sources.

Garcetti spoke around 9 a.m. at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's headquarters in downtown. The plan is to phase out the facilities over the next decade to replace them with clean energy.

"We have the people to make it happen, we have the will to make it happen, we have the technology to make it happen," Garcetti said.

The facilities targeted by the plan are the Scattergood Generating Station in El Segundo, Harbor Generating Station in Wilmington, and the Haynes Generating Station in Long Beach.

Rebuilding the natural gas plants would cost billions of dollars. Food & Water Watch, an environmental watchdog organization, has applauded Garcetti's direction. They said it's the first step in positioning L.A. toward 100 percent renewable energy by 2030.

"Mayor Garcetti has listened to us and decided that Los Angeles can do better," Alexandra Nagy, a senior organizer with the group, said in a statement. "It's time to clean up our air, prioritize health communities and green jobs, and usher in a clean energy resolution."

Garcetti also responded to criticism from the Valley Industry and Commerce Association. They provided a statement over his plans.

"This is a short-sighted and expensive experiment with the ratepayers' money. This will cost every ratepayer $3,571, which will undoubtedly require rate increases," the statement said.