Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said today is “the beginning of the end” of natural gas in Los Angeles with his directive that the Department of Water and Power not spend billions of dollars to repower three coastal natural gas power plants, including one in Long Beach.

The three plants—Haynes in East Long Beach, Scattergood in Playa Del Rey and Harbor in Wilmington—represent 38 percent of Los Angeles’ current natural gas portfolio. The Haynes station is off Second Street near the Seal Beach border.

Phasing them out by 2029 will accelerate L.A.’s transition to 100 percent renewable energy while putting the city on track to meet its carbon-neutral target of 2050, according to the mayor’s office.

“This is the beginning of the end of natural gas in Los Angeles,” Garcetti said. “The climate crisis demands that we move more quickly to end dependence on fossil fuel, and that’s what today is all about.”

In order to replace the power generated by the three plants, Garcetti said he directed the LADWP to shift focus from its previous Strategic Long Term Resource Plan to the current 100 percent Renewable Energy Study. The $10 million analysis was launched in 2017 with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to determine a feasible path to 100 percent clean energy.

“The commitments we make today, and moving forward, need to be part of a larger narrative. We will take on climate change head-on,” Councilwoman Nury Martinez said a news conference with Garcetti and other city leaders outside LADWP headquarters.

Garcetti’s office said the LADWP will also allocate financial resources to explore energy alternatives, including public-private partnerships, new and upgraded transmission and distribution systems, microgrid technologies, and enhanced energy storage projects over the coming years.

Stuart Waldman, president of Valley Industry Commerce Association, was critical of the decision, saying it was made without consulting residents or ratepayers.

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