L.A. says goodbye to coal as source for electricity

Los Angeles officially has broken up with coal.

- HAYLEY SMITH

COAL at Utah's Intermountain plant. L.A. still is not free of reliance on fossil fuel.

City officials on Thursday announced that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power stopped receiving coal-powered electricity from its last remaining coal source, the Intermountain Power Project in Utah.

"This is a defining moment for the City of Los Angeles," Mayor Karen Bass said at a news conference. "L.A.'s coal divestment is not just about discontinuing the use of coal to power our city — it's about building a clean energy economy that benefits every Angeleno. This milestone will further accelerate our transition to 100% clean energy by 2035."

Electricity generation is one of the biggest causes of climate change, and burning coal is the most destructive way to generate power from a climate and environmental perspective. The city has committed to achieving carbon-free energy in the next decade through investments in cleaner technologies such as solar, wind, battery energy storage and hydrogen.