Builders, small business owners, developers, and realtors say natural gas is the favored fuel source for meeting essential home energy needs, and that consumers value having a choice over what fuels heat and power homes, businesses, and other buildings in America, recent reporting has shown.
Driven by politically-motivated decarbonization objectives, cities and local municipalities are trying to block the use and availability of natural gas in newly-constructed homes and commercial buildings through total electrification policies.
But the efficiency and reliability of natural gas is unmatched when it comes to cooking, building temperature control, and power generation – not to mention overall comfort and modern living – and is prompting concerns over wide-ranging energy choice restrictions being forced without considering potential impacts to consumers, the electrical grid, and even our nation’s environmental progress.
For one, the cost of policy-driven residential electrification would largely fall onto consumers, an American Gas Association (AGA) report points out, driving up residential electricity costs approximately 38-46% (or about $750 to $910 per household annually). Economy-wide decarbonization through policy-driven electrification would up that number to roughly $1,060 to $1,420 per year, depending on the region, AGA also notes.
A study conducted by the City of San Francisco, one of the first to propose such residential gas bans, in fact found that it would cost upwards of $5 billion to retrofit all residences currently utilizing natural gas – a burden that would primarily fall on consumers’ or taxpayers’ shoulders.
Even real estate agents – despite the hot housing market – are having a hard time selling all-electric homes because prospective buyers prefer natural gas, the Wall Street Journal recently reported.
“Natural gas is what sells,” a house-flipper in Arlington, Mass. told the Journal. “Unless I’m forced to build an electric house, people don’t want it.”
Eliminating consumer choice through all-electrification would also do little to achieve desired climate goals. Emission reductions from the residential sector – a main driver of these policy decisions – would actually be offset by the increase in demand from the power sector, AGA’s study highlighted.
As such, AGA notes emissions from the residential sector account for less than 4% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, “emissions from electric generation needed to meet electric load in the residential sector are already nearly twice as large as direct end use sources in this sector,” and would increase further if gas were to be phased out completely.
Some states, including Ohio and Florida, have enacted laws protecting consumer choice. Similar legislation is currently under consideration in Pennsylvania.
“With over 2500 municipal entities in Pennsylvania, [municipal bans on natural gas] would create a policy founded on an unworkable patchwork of restrictions and further deny residents access to differing energy resources,” Senator Gene Yaw, prime bill sponsor, said.
