CALIFORNIA FOCUS
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 2023, OR THEREAFTER
BY THOMAS D. ELIAS
“APPLIANCE ELECTRIFICATION: THE
COMING PUBLIC POLICY?”
There’s
been copious news coverage of attempts by state government to force dense new
housing construction on cities around California. Much less is said about
attempts to compel Californians to switch almost every type of domestic
appliance or machine from natural gas fuel to electricity.
At the
same time, little note was taken of power blackouts – sometimes lasting a week
or more – that accompanied the myriad storms of last winter, which set records
for snowpack in the Sierra Nevada and other California mountain ranges.
Despite
those events, much more in-home electrification likely be forced on homeowners
in the near future.
It’s just
possible that after the huge natural gas bills handed to most Californians
early this year, some home and condominium owners feel full electrification
can’t come soon enough.
Seemingly
getting set for this, a movement among cities and counties over the last three
years now sees builders installing electric appliances in most new housing
throughout the state. At the same time, pressure will soon start building on
owners of existing homes to electrify almost everything whenever they create
significant additions or remodels.
Some
cities are even adopting ordinances to force such conversions as part of
all home sales after 2028 or 2030, although there may be delays in that
requirement because a federal appeals court ruled this spring that Berkeley
cannot enforce its new law requiring conversions in short order.
These
coming policies stem from conventional wisdom among officials that says fossil
fuel natural gas furthers climate change. People holding this view often also
insist California must lead in mitigating that as much as possible. Many local
government staffers are also convinced gas appliances emit toxic fumes like
oxides of nitrogen, a major component of smog. They urge anyone using gas
stoves to run every available ventilator while cooking.
So water heaters (even
tankless ones), stoves and stovetops, ovens, clothes dryers, central heaters –
virtually any appliance a homeowner might use – might become electric, rather
than gas-fired, within a decade or so.
This
would be much like the 1970s-era conversions to low-flow for most water-using
devices, from bathroom and kitchen faucets to washing machines and shower
heads.
As with
those changes and the thousands of switches from green lawns to
drought-resistant plants, many cities and counties will likely subsidize folks
who get on board.
This
movement is strongest now in Northern California, where cities like San Mateo
and Piedmont require homeowners to install new outlets for electric appliances
during all kitchen and laundry room renovations. They also require installing
high-capacity electric circuit panels whenever existing panels are altered or
upgraded.
Some
cities encourage these changes when construction is happening anyway, making
the changeovers cheaper than if they were separate projects.
Other
cities have also begun mandating heat pumps when heaters are replaced, but are
not yet forcing homeowners to dump natural gas space heaters.
That will
likely come within the next 10 to 20 years, but probably not until the state’s
electric grid grows considerably, as must happen anyhow for the state to reach
its stated goal of ending sales of strictly gasoline-powered cars by 2035.
But the
real shock will come when and if cities adopt and enforce almost complete
electrification at time of sale. That could cut home sellers’ profits by
thousands of dollars on almost every transaction.
This
putative requirement will surely meet heavy resistance among homeowners, who
have lived with gas appliances for many decades without apparent harm, at the
same time enjoying more reliability than electricity offers in an era of
frequent blackouts.
Their
likely resistance is bound to produce a series of local ballot measures seeking
to maintain the status quo, where homeowners and apartment landlords can freely
choose whatever appliances they like.
Of
course, just as with housing policy, state government lurks in the background.
If the Legislature passes new laws mandating mass electrification no matter the
cost, some local governments will surely mount legal challenges, egged on by
change-resistant homeowners.
Then, as
with today’s housing issues, it will be up to the courts to decide whether
charter cities, normally free to make local laws that diverge from state rules,
can also decide this issue on their own.
-30-
Elias is author of the current book “The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most
Promising Cancer Treatment and the Government's Campaign to Squelch It,” now
available in an updated third edition. His email address is tdelias@aol.com
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