The Gateway Cities are home to more than two million residents across 27 communities in Southeast Los Angeles. These neighborhoods are rich in history, culture, and diversity, but they also bear some of the heaviest burdens of pollution, traffic, and housing challenges in California. Although the Gateway accounts for just 5% of the state’s population, it encompasses 36% of its most severely impacted census tracts. In our emPOWER Gateway Communities of Focus, 95% of residents live in areas ranked in the 95th percentile of pollution burden under CalEnviroScreen, and more than 130,000 households are both single-family and low-income.

That makes the Gateway Cities especially ready to benefit from clean energy rebates. For too long, families here have faced barriers such as language, complicated applications, or a lack of local outreach that keep them from accessing the support they deserve. emPOWER Gateway exists to change that.

Our mission is about more than rebates. We make clean transportation and home electrification affordable and practical, helping families save money, breathe cleaner air, and build a stronger future. With step-by-step support in English and Spanish, we connect working households directly to programs that can provide thousands of dollars in real savings for EVs, home charging, and energy upgrades. Ensuring clean energy is not just available, but accessible.

emPOWER Gateway focuses on the Gateway Cities because access has not always been equal. Many households miss out on rebates and incentives due to language barriers, complicated applications, or lack of local outreach. By centering our efforts here, we ensure that working families have direct pathways to programs that lower their monthly bills and improve everyday quality of life.