This article is the first of a two-part series on building gas bans and all-electric codes that advanced in the second half of 2022. The second part can be found here.

The second half of 2022 saw the movement to restrict natural gas use in buildings continue to expand, with much of the activity driven by policymaking in California.

Building electrification mandates took root in new parts of the country as well — including Michigan, Maryland and Washington, D.C. — while ongoing campaigns scored victories and setbacks elsewhere in the U.S.

Federal electrification policy also took a major step as the Biden administration announced a plan in December 2022 to phase out fossil fuel use in federal buildings. And the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted in October 2022 to seek public input on potential health hazards associated with gas stoves, which could prompt the agency to regulate or ban new appliance sales.

Still, much of the policymaking remained at the state and local levels. At least 15 California towns, cities and counties adopted restrictions on fossil fuel use in new construction in the second half of 2022, pushing the Golden State's tally of gas bans past 70.

The flurry of activity preceded the implementation of California's 2022 Building Energy Efficiency Standards on Jan. 1, 2023. The latest energy code, which favors building electrification, provided an opportunity for local and county governments to add more stringent electrification requirements when they adopt the statewide standards.

All-electric construction measures surpass 70 in California

The second-half activity culminated in a major win for building electrification backers: Los Angeles, the state's most populous city, adopted a gas ban on Dec. 7, 2022. The vote and several others demonstrated that momentum is gathering to restrict gas use in Southern California, three years after the movement took root in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Two high-population cities in Los Angeles County — Pasadena on Aug. 8, 2022, and Glendale on Nov. 15, 2022 — also adopted all-electric codes. While Pasadena's reach code does not apply to single-family homes, Glendale's has virtually no exemptions.

Ventura County, located west of Los Angeles County, on Nov. 1, 2022, adopted an all-electric reach code that applies to unincorporated areas of the county. Lawmakers in Riverside, one of California's most populous cities and the county seat, voted on Dec. 6, 2022, to require all-electric construction in small buildings in 2023 and larger buildings in 2026.

In San Diego, California's second most populous city, local lawmakers approved an update to the city's Climate Action Plan that calls for implementing a policy to prohibit gas use in new residential and commercial buildings.

In the Bay Area, two communities — Corte Madera and San Rafael — voted to restrict gas use in Marin County, where county and local officials have developed model electrification reach codes for new construction. Martinez, Calif., also adopted a reach code in October 2022 modeled after one adopted by its home county, Contra Costa County, earlier in the year.

Four communities in Alameda County — Livermore, Pleasanton, San Leandro and Dublin — adopted all-electric reach codes, pushing the county's ordinance count into double digits. San Mateo County's total hit at least 18 after the towns of Portola Valley and Atherton adopted all-electric reach codes.

Calif. communities begin tackling existing building electrification

Toward the end of 2022, some Bay Area towns and cities began implementing policies to mandate electrification in existing buildings.

The San Mateo City Council in November 2022 adopted a new ordinance that requires owners to use an electric heat pump — which provides both space heating and cooling — when first installing or replacing an air-conditioner in existing single-family homes and duplexes. Owners would have to remove any existing fossil fuel heating equipment or reconfigure it to provide only supplemental heating.

The ordinance also requires owners to install a heat pump water heater during any home alteration that includes upgrading the existing water heater. It additionally prohibits owners from extending gas lines into a backyard for pool heating, grills and other outdoor amenities. In neighboring Santa Clara County, Palo Alto adopted a similar heat pump water heater requirement for residential alteration projects and also prohibited gas line extensions for backyard use.

Lastly, San Mateo's ordinance includes two electric-ready provisions. Owners must install an outlet for cooking appliances and clothes drying during kitchen and laundry room alterations. They must also include capacity and breakers that allow for future heating and appliance electrification as part of any electric panel replacement or upgrade.

Portola Valley, another San Mateo County community, required heat pumps wherever an air-conditioner would be installed, upgraded or relocated in residential buildings. It also required electric panel upgrades and replacements to include enough capacity to accommodate electric water heating, cooking and clothes drying appliances, as well as vehicle charging and solar panels.

San Mateo and Portola Valley developed the measures in consultation with Peninsula Clean Energy, or PCE, a community choice aggregator for San Mateo County that helped catalyze the electrification reach code movement in 2019. PCE is now developing model electrification codes for existing buildings as part of a coalition called Bay Area Reach Codes.

Gas bans gather momentum in Colorado

The small ski town of Crested Butte, Colo., became the first municipality in the Centennial State to prohibit gas use in new residential and commercial construction. The town council voted unanimously on Aug. 2, 2022, to require all-electric construction, part of a package of measures to help Crested Butte achieve its short-term climate goals.

The council added the electrification mandates to its adoption of 2021 model building codes developed by the International Construction Council. Crested Butte also amended the model codes to require rooftop solar installations for large buildings, solar-ready wiring for smaller structures and electric vehicle charging infrastructure — provisions commonly paired with electrification requirements.

The town, where Atmos Energy Corp. distributes gas, additionally required residential construction to be certified under the U.S. Department of Energy's Zero Energy Ready Home program. It also increased environmental standards for newly installed gas stoves, fireplaces and other solid fuel-burning devices in new and existing residences.

Crested Butte will also require buildings that undergo substantial renovations to be electric-ready for space and water heating, cooking and clothes drying, as well as have solar panels and EV charging.

Several other cities in Garfield and Boulder counties have adopted electric-ready provisions and plan to pursue all-electric building requirements. Denver adopted partial electrification requirements for existing buildings in 2021.

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