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Judges rule cities cannot ban natural gas, this includes SLO

April 18, 2023

By KAREN VELIE

A federal appeals court unanimously struck down Berkeley’s natural gas ban on Monday, an ordinance the San Luis Obispo City Council mimicked even though it was under a legal challenge.

Instead of directly banning gas appliances, which violates the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, Berkeley circumvented the act by prohibiting the construction of gas lines in new construction, according to the ruling. By prohibiting gas lines, Berkeley attempted to displace the authority of the U.S. Congress.

“Instead of directly banning those appliances in new buildings, Berkeley took a more circuitous route to the same result, U.S. District Court Judge Patrick J. Bumatay said in his opinion. “It enacted a building code that prohibits natural gas piping into those buildings, rendering the gas appliances useless.”

In 2019, the SLO City Council voted in favor of enacting a ban on natural gas appliances in new construction. However, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act prohibits local and state governments from prohibiting natural gas appliances, attorney Saro Rizo told the council at the time.

When faced with legal pressure, SLO city officials temporarily suspended their plan to phase out the use of natural gas.

Then in 2020, the council adopted new energy efficiency requirements for constructing buildings with natural gas appliances and incentivized building all-electric structures instead. But many developers still opted to construct mixed-fuel buildings, rather than all-electric.

In turn, last year city officials voted for an outright ban of natural gas lines in new construction, a ban that parroted Berkeley’s natural gas ban. The ban went into effect on Jan. 1, 2023.

On Tuesday evening, the San Luis Obispo City Council plans to discuss suspending its ban on natural gas infrastructure in new development.

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Well, there seems to be a real consensus throughout the comments here, so let me just go for the record number of “down arrows” I have ever achieved. A personal best, if you will. In the interest of Freedom of Speech, and all.


Perhaps rather than being some “liberal” corrupt scheme, some of us are actually favoring the continued livability of the planet, which is seriously in question at the moment. If as a culture, we are not willing to address that, perhaps we do not deserve what we would so recklessly destroy.


When the gas bill tripled this winter, I switched to an induction plate for about 90% of my cooking and saw not only my gas bill drop line a stone, but my electric usage only went up approximately $9.00 for the next month.


Induction is how people cook in Scandinavian countries and many other places in Europe. It works by magnetism, only heating the actual bottom of the pan. It is not only cheap and highly efficient, but also very easy to use. I never thought I would prefer anything to my gas range, but now I almost only use it for baking or during a power outage.


Costco sells induction plates and compatible cookware. One can test what you have or purchases you might want to make second hand by holding a strong magnet to the bottom of a pan. If it goes “thunk” against the bottom, it works. Your cast iron is serviceable, as is any steel pan that is not stainless steel. If more people made such adjustments willingly, perhaps drastic civil measures would not be necessary. Until that measure of personal responsibility happens, I must agree with those who are attempting to save us from ourselves.


-17

Huge UP vote for you.


But, unfortunately, it might be the only one you get from this crowd. Anything considered “European” must be communist, so the CCN clientele will vote you down early and often.


Nice try, though.


-17

If the cities really want to conserve and not pollute, outlaw flush toilets. Collection bins and community compost piles would supply supper much for gardens that can be used for locally grown food. Outlawing natural gas is a hilarious misinformed idea when you consider the current power grid’s inability to deliver the potential demand, as well as the need for more nuclear power generation. This will soon become a new discussion as more electric vehicles hit the road. Better buy your standby power system now.


11

Outlawing flush toilets is a “hilarious and misinformed idea” itself…


14

Reducing energy redundancy to a living space, commercial or industrial space defied logic. Heidi Harmon’s crowning achievement of virtue signaling will soon be proven illegal, but it doesn’t remove the stigma of an invasive SLO City Council that wants to intrude into your home and tell you how to heat yourself and cook. Though she will never be held accountable, banning gas and steering customers to your favored green company sure looks like collusion and a conspiracy. Let the lawsuits begin.


76

You burn natural gas at 90-95% efficiency with modern appliances in your home. Natural gas electric plants, and even worse LADWP’s massive Utah coal plant, are 35-55% thermal efficient, depending on age, before additional transmission losses (no sitting SLO City Council member could possibly understand this). Until renewables can pick up peak loads, gas appliances are the most environmental option, period. Why don’t you take up environmental activism in China, India, Russia, or Africa? No 70’s/80’s LA smog alerts here anymore.


79

Yes, Natural gas furnaces are 90-95% efficient, but compare that with an electric heat pump furnace which is around 300% efficient. No comparison. Also, if you are including “transmission losses” when talking about electric, don’t forget the electric energy consumed to run the gas transmission pumps and infrastructure to get the natural gas through the massive distribution network of pipelines into your home. It doesn’t flow to your house by magic.


0

This is what happens when you elect Baby Boomers to City Council who’s entire political mission is to live out the unfulfilled dreams of their hippie youth and recreating our city in the image of Berkeley. All hail the great city of Berkley, mecca of 1960’s radical idealism, and 2023 political mid life crises.


71

Do you people who voted these far left people in power realize how much they want to control your lives and you let them. At least a sane person told them to take a hike and you should tell the people that support no gas to do the same at next election, but you won’t why I will never figure out


77

I love it. A judge with a sense of reality, unlike those that proposed the insanity.


74

This is an interesting ruling being that it came from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which is usually far left. Kinda means to me that that gas ban doesn’t have a chance in the higher courts.


32

Another LAME Progressive Tyrant rule bites the dust!


Always up for banning before providing a solid source to replace it. Its like banning the horse 50 years before having automobiles because, HEY! Eventually we’ll have cars!


It’s tough to not think they are up to killing off the population that can no longer access available utility resources due to scarcity and cost that they alone have created.


Or are they….


78

For many good reasons, the City of Berkeley, California has the nickname “Berserkely”.


74
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