First published in the March 5 print issue of the Burbank Leader.
Burbank leaders recently attended the American Public Power Association Legislative Rally in Washington, D.C., to lobby for clean energy funding.
Burbank Councilman Bob Frutos and Water and Power General Manager Dawn Roth Lindell attended the event, held from Monday through Wednesday. They advocated for additional funding for electric vehicle chargers along the freeways to reduce transportation pollution and funding for local governments to purchase zero-emission vehicles for public fleets.
The city leaders also supported energy tax incentives for public power utilities to help lessen the rate pressures on the utility’s customer-owners.
Additionally, Frutos and Lindell met with U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, whose district includes Burbank, to highlight the city’s work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to address climate change.
“BWP and the city of Burbank support clean energy goals, but we will have challenges getting to a GHG-free future by 2040,” Lindell said. “This event gives us the opportunity to bring up the challenges we face as public power providers so that we can get support in making our clean energy future a reality.”
As Burbank’s clean energy portfolio grows, according to a news release from the city, it must consider investing with other public utilities in transmission lines to bring more renewable energy into California and the Los Angeles basin. The city also pledged to support policies that help reduce emissions by promoting hydropower and other renewables, energy storage, electric vehicles adoption and other advanced technologies.
Burbank is already seeking to reduce emissions for the Burbank community through transportation electrification efforts. Transportation alone accounts for 43% of greenhouse gas emissions in Burbank.
Residents and businesses are encouraged to learn more about Burbank’s clean energy future on the BWP website at BurbankWaterAndPower.com/powering-burbank.
