California regulators approved a plan Thursday that will keep the controversial Aliso Canyon gas storage site open likely into the 2030s.
The California Public Utilities Commission voted 4-0 to close the natural gas field, which experienced the nation’s largest methane leak in 2015, once demand in the area drops to a certain level.
Under the decision, agency staff will determine every other year whether demand for natural gas in the San Fernando Valley has dropped enough to allow SoCalGas to shutter the Porter Ranch facility.
Under the plan, CPUC will start the process of closing the storage site once the region’s natural gas demand falls below 4.1 million metric cubic feet per day. That’s a figure that likely won’t be reached until after 2030, SoCalGas’ 2024 California Gas Report found.
