Edison International 2021 Sustainability Report: Carbon Footprint
Northampton, MA --News Direct-- Edison International
Our GHG emissions inventory covers Edison International, SCE and Edison Energy1. We account for GHG emissions using The Climate Registry’s General Reporting Protocol and the sector-specific reporting protocol for the Electric Power Sector. Edison International's and Edison Energy's emissions are de minimis compared to SCE's emissions.
Scope 1 emissions represent an estimated 8% of our enterprisewide footprint. Scope 1 includes emissions from SCE's utility-owned generation, as well as emissions related to our transportation fleet, stationary combustion for backup generators and building heating, and fugitives such as sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). In 2021, 80% of Scope 1 emissions came from SCE’s combined cycle natural gas plant, Mountainview, which is covered under California’s cap-and-trade market. Our Scope 1 emissions declined an estimated 29% from 2020 due to Mountainview’s less frequent economic dispatch by the California Independent System Operator. The completion of SCE's West of Devers transmission line supporting higher levels of renewable energy and increased local capacity, as well as a planned outage of the plant to support capital work, contributed to this reduced run time.
Scope 2 emissions represent an estimated 6% of our footprint and include line loss emissions from power SCE purchases from third parties and sells to customers. Scope 2 also includes facility electricity, though this is a comparatively small portion of our footprint. Scope 2 emissions declined an estimated 4% from 2020. This appears to be due to normal operational variability associated with SCE’s purchased power mix. An update to SCE’s accounting of “retail sales” for its 2021 power mix may have also caused downward pressure on the line loss emissions estimate when compared to prior years. This is from an accounting perspective only.2
Scope 3 emissions comprise the majority of our footprint, an estimated 87%, and largely relate to the power SCE purchases from third parties and sells to customers. Our Scope 3 inventory includes, for the first time in 2021, an estimate of emissions from Edison International and SCE’s supply chain as it relates to goods and services, capital goods and upstream transportation and distribution.2 Our 2020 inventory has been updated to incorporate an estimate of these emissions as well. We continue to report our business travel and employee commute emissions in Scope 3 of our 2020 and 2021 inventories.
In 2021, our Scope 3 emissions declined 3% compared to 2020. The reduction appears to be predominantly due to normal operational variability associated with SCE’s purchased power mix. An update to SCE’s accounting of “retail sales” for its 2021 power mix may have also caused downward pressure on the estimated emissions when compared to prior years. This is from an accounting perspective only.1 We expect our Scope 3 emissions to decline substantially over the next two decades as Pathway 2045 is realized.
2021 Power Mix for SCE Customers
In 2021, 43% of the power SCE delivered to customers is estimated to have come from carbon-free sources, including RPS-eligible resources such as wind and solar, along with other carbon-free sources such as large hydroelectric and nuclear power. In 2021, SCE’s estimated delivered power mix emitted approximately 45% fewer GHG emissions per unit of electricity compared to the latest available U.S. national average.1
SCE's performance in terms of proportion of carbon-free power in its delivered power mix was similar between 2020 and 2021. SCE updated the methodology used to account for retail sales in 2021, to more accurately reflect load served and power purchased on behalf of and sold to SCE customers, however, which makes it difficult to compare year-over-year performance.2 We estimate that, under the old methodology, SCE's performance may have shown a slight percentage point decline compared to prior-year performance. This would be due to normal operational variability, and SCE remains well-positioned to meet our 2030 and 2045 RPS and carbon-free power goals and interim targets.
Path to Net Zero
Edison International is committed to achieving net-zero GHG emissions across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2045.1 GHG emissions stemming from the power SCE sells to customers comprise the majority (87% excluding line losses) of Edison International’s enterprisewide emissions inventory. Thus, a major component of our plan to achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2045 is to deliver 100% carbon-free power to SCE customers by 2045. This goal is a statutory requirement in California and is supported by interim renewable energy compliance requirements through 2030. SCE has also set an interim carbon-free power target of 80% by 2030, which exceeds our renewable energy compliance requirement, and we have been advocating for the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to authorize this target. SCE is investing heavily in energy storage and the grid-related capabilities needed to deliver high levels of intermittent renewable resources. We believe we can meet this carbon-free power target using technology that exists today.
SCE’s 100% carbon-free power target and California’s statutory requirement are both on a “retail sales” basis, which excludes, from an accounting perspective, power generation lost via transmission and distribution. This leaves a small amount of headroom for natural gas to serve as back-up power during high heat, peak load days or in case of emergency in 2045. This could come from SCE-owned natural gas resources (Scope 1) and/or power purchased from third-party generators (Scope 3). All electricity generators in California that emit over 25,000 MTCO2e annually are covered under the state’s cap-and-trade program, including SCE's Mountainview combined cycle plant. All other electricity generators are also included in California’s statewide GHG emissions inventory and thus any remaining emissions from natural gas power plants in 2045 will need to be offset or removed to meet the state’s economywide net-zero GHG emissions goal. Edison International is collaborating with peer utilities through LCRI to advance potential solutions.
We anticipate that the remaining 13% of emissions across our enterprise will decline substantially over the next two decades as California and other jurisdictions enact policies to meet economywide climate goals. Policies already enacted in California support electrification and decarbonization of our transportation fleet and facilities and the phase-out of SF6, a high global warming- potential gas, from SCE’s transmission and distribution equipment. In addition, we are exploring voluntary actions to accelerate the pace of change. SCE has set its own voluntary targets to electrify its transportation fleet and is exploring ways to engage its supply chain in decarbonization efforts.
Edison International and Edison Energy2 emissions are part of our enterprisewide commitment, and we plan to explore ways to reduce or otherwise offset this portion of our footprint. Edison International and Edison Energy emissions are considered de minimis compared to SCE emissions.
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