City ( Berkeley, California) abruptly reverses landmark decision to ban gas hookups: 'We have ceased

[rangerrebew]

City abruptly reverses landmark decision to ban gas hookups: 'We have ceased enforcement'
Leslie Sattler
Fri, May 3, 2024 at 2:00 PM EDT·2 min read
182


The city of Berkeley, California, is repealing its landmark ban on natural gas hookups in new buildings, according to the New York Times. The first-of-its-kind ordinance, passed in 2019, is being scrapped after a legal challenge from the California Restaurant Association.

What happened?
The groundbreaking law thrust Berkeley into the national spotlight and inspired over 140 other cities to phase out gas in new homes and buildings, as the Times detailed.

However, those efforts now face an uncertain future amid pushback from the gas industry, restaurants, and builders.

The court battle ended in a settlement last week, with the city halting enforcement of the ordinance and vowing to officially undo the rule.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/city-abruptly-reverses-landmark-decision-180000010.html

[Smokin Joe]

People are going to need some way to cook food and boil water if the lights go out while charging all those EVs...

[Wingnut]

Took a law suit to do it. 

[SZonian]

Idiot who wrote the article thinks that fairies are going to magically convert a home or business from gas to electric simply by switching the appliances. 

Current estimates to retrofit a house from gas to electric for: stove, water heater, furnace and dryer are in the ~$40k range. Oh, not counting the cost of the new appliances.

How many years will it take me to see the "...win-win for my wallet..." from this as the article purports?

[The_Reader_David]

The foolish, misbegotten ordinance did not require conversion of existing properties, it only forbade new installations of gas appliances/furnaces and the like. 

It was still sompletely stupid since burning natural gas at the site is more efficient than any way of generating electricity off-site and using the electricity.  Only idiots under the delusion that all electricity would soon come from windmills and solar panels (they aren't proposing nuclear plants, the only realistic way of replacing fossil fuels for electricity generation) would think it somehow decreased "carbon emissions". (That and preventing any new restaurants preparing the many sorts of cuisine that really depend on the sort of heat on can get from a large gas burner, but can't get from an electric stove from opening in Berkeley.)

[SZonian]

While the Berkeley law applies to new construction, DeMaio says Reform California is aware of and fighting mandates requiring retrofits of existing homes and buildings — such as one proposal in San Diego. DeMaio says the cost of these retrofit mandates would come to $26,000-$31,000 per homeowner — and that’s just on the low-end of the estimates.
https://reformcalifornia.org/news/california-natural-gas-appliance-ban-blocked-by-federal-ninth-circuit-court

The new building code doesn’t ban the sale of natural gas appliances outright — that will come in 2030, in a mandate from the California Air Resources Board that is designed to lower the “carbonization” of structures and improve indoor air quality.

Existing homes and buildings won’t be entirely off the electrical hook under the new building code. Those that undergo substantial upgrades also will be required to meet the new mandate.
https://gvwire.com/2022/12/16/california-ban-on-gas-appliances-starts-with-jan-1-all-electric-rule/