California PUC Rule, Berkeley Gas Ban Elevate Debate Over Electrification

Debate over California’s ongoing push to replace natural gas with cleaner electricity for use in buildings and homes continues to escalate, as the state’s utilities commission recently eliminated a longstanding cost-effectiveness mandate for fuel-switching energy efficiency projects and the city of Berkeley voted to prohibit gas hookups in new low-rise buildings starting in 2020. The electrification of buildings and vehicles is a major strategy in California’s plan to achieve greenhouse gas targets of 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030,...