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Dec 16, 2023

Natural gas ban: NY bans new building hookups. What happens to stoves?

New York's first-in-the-nation ban on natural-gas hookups means gas-fired

New York's first-in-the-nation ban on natural-gas hookups means gas-fired heaters and appliances will no longer be installed in new homes and businesses, starting in 2026 for buildings of seven stories or less.

They'll be built instead with heat pumps, geothermal systems and electric appliances, with some exceptions for gas use.

What the future ban won't do, in spite of the political clamor after lawmakers passed it in the state budget this month, is endanger anyone's gas stove. It doesn't affect existing gas hookups, or the boilers, furnaces and appliances they supply − or the owner's ability to replace those products when they conk out.

The shift toward construction of all-electric homes and businesses is part of the state's aggressive push to curb the use of fossil fuels and their planet-warming emissions. Fumes from buildings, particularly gas- and oil-burning heating systems, account for about 30% of the state's greenhouse gases, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Opponents have framed it as a "gas stove ban," stoking outrage for America's culture wars. Here are some details about the ban and important context.

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The halt on gas connections for newly built homes and businesses of seven stories or less starts at the beginning of 2026. For taller buildings, and for businesses larger than 100,000 square feet, the ban begins in 2029.

There is no future prohibition on gas-powered products in the budget. Gov. Kathy Hochul's initial plan this year would have stopped the sale of gas heating equipment - not stoves - in two stages in 2030 and 2035, but that part was removed from the final version the state adopted.

The ban has quite a few exceptions. New gas connections will be allowed for manufacturing facilities, commercial food establishments, laboratories, car washes, laundromats, hospitals, crematoriums, agricultural buildings and critical infrastructure.

New gas hookups also be permitted for generators that serve as backup power supplies.

New York is the first state in the nation to ban gas hookups. But it was preceded by the city of Berkeley in California and its own largest city, where more than 40% of state's population lives.

Berkeley's 2020 ban was overturned last month by a federal court ruling that doesn't affect New York. The gas ban adopted by the New York City Council in 2021 applies to new buildings up to seven stories in 2024 and to larger ones in 2027.

So the city of 8.5 million will lead the rest of the state by two years in stopping gas connections.

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Building gas-less homes and businesses is nothing new in the most populated county north of the city.

Westchester County, home to 1 million people, has had a ban on gas hookups for new buildings in most of its territory since 2019. That's not a government decree but a moratorium by the utility Con Edison, which said demand had outpaced supply and blamed "constraints on interstate pipelines."

As a result, "most new single-family homes and nearly all multifamily construction in Westchester County has already needed to build all-electric," Tim Foley, CEO of the Building and Realty Institute of Westchester, explained by email.

Foley said his group initially was concerned that the proposed statewide ban had no "mechanism for halting the mandate if we hit a real crunch on energy supply" - and no government agency watching if that happens. But those worries were alleviated by bill changes.

"The final version in the budget requires the Public Service Commission to evaluate the grid in a particular region and allow for exemptions if grid reliability is in question," Foley wrote. "So we feel better that the state is paying attention to the question of reliability and supply."

Supporters were pleased the state took the step to meet its climate goals but disappointed the ban won't begin for two and a half years. Hochul had proposed starting it in 2025 for new buildings under four stories in her original budget proposal in February.

"Our view is that the timetable should have been shorter," said Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group.

Horner said the state had no choice but to stop new gas hookups if it hopes to meet its goal of ending fossil-fuel use by 2050. He predicted little practical impact on people's daily lives, other than cleaner breathing for people with asthma or other respiratory ailments worsened by methane fumes that leak from gas stoves.

Supporters also say all-electric homes could cut utility costs. In a report released in October, the Win Climate research group concluded that heating a single-family home in New York would cost $904 a year less on average, if built with an air source heat pump instead of a furnace or boiler.

Critics claim the opposite, warning of higher utility costs. They condemned the gas ban as government overreach, arguing it will curb consumer choice, increase household expenses and force too much dependence on electricity.

"Relying solely on electricity is a dangerous and unreliable roadmap that will lead to costly homes, buildings, and utilities for struggling families and businesses in Upstate New York," a pro-growth group called Upstate United said in a statement after the budget's passage.

Republican politicians pounced on a red-meat issue for their base. GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of Rockland County blast-texted an immediate campaign fundraising pitch about the ban, hawking T-shirts, sweatshirts and mugs that proclaim, "Don't give up the stove."

New York voters backed the ban by 49% to 40% in a Siena College poll in March, but those views were sharply divided by party. Among those surveyed, 61% of Democrats were in favor and 67% of Republicans were against it.

Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at [email protected].