The California Energy Commission will stick to the path of electrifying buildings despite a legal challenge filed against it by the nation’s largest natural gas utility, the agency’s chair said Wednesday.

“Directionally, at the Energy Commission, we are going to keep fidelity to the state’s goals” of reducing greenhouse gases, including by electrifying buildings, increasing energy efficiency and procuring renewable energy, as required by landmark laws and executive orders signed by former Gov. Jerry Brown, Chair David Hochschild said.

“And along with that, we do care a great deal … about health,” Hochschild said. “And one of the things that recent research has uncovered is that the health impacts, even among homes that have gas, that have the same appliances, are not equal. Low-income homes are more likely to have heavier burdens” because they lack adequate ventilation for emissions from gas appliances, he said.

Hochschild made his remarks after hearing from dozens of environmental activists, physicians and residents who called for the CEC to require new buildings in California to be all-electric starting with the commission’s 2022 update to its building energy efficiency standards, which it plans to approve next year. Many of the speakers cited health impacts associated with methane emissions.

Local Electrification Measures

Cities and counties can pass ordinances that exceed the 2019 standards with the CEC’s approval. Nearly three dozen local governments have done so by requiring new or existing buildings to have electric furnaces, water heaters and cooktops in place of gas appliances.

San Luis Obispo was the latest city to adopt an electrification measure. On Wednesday, the CEC approved a city ordinance requiring all new buildings to be electric or, if using mixed fuels, to achieve heightened energy efficiency standards.

The CEC also approved a Davis city ordinance mandating rooftop solar and increased efficiency standards for high-rise and nonresidential buildings. State law already requires rooftop solar on new low-rise residential structures, though the CEC has approved exceptions to the rule. (See Calif. Energy Commission Relaxes Rooftop Mandate.)

Nearly all the public speakers at Wednesday’s hearing began by backing the proposed city ordinances but quickly segued into calling for statewide electrification rules.

SoCalGas Lawsuit

Hochschild acknowledged the comments and said the CEC would stay the course on electrification even though “now [the effort is] going to continue in court, because [Southern California Gas] elected to sue us … over this issue.”

SoCalGas, which serves nearly 22 million customers, filed a lawsuit in state court July 31 arguing that the CEC had failed to consider natural gas as a cleaner alternative to other fossil fuels, as it was required to do by a bill Brown signed in 2013.

“Natural gas and renewable gas are clean, affordable, resilient and reliable sources of energy on which millions of California consumers and businesses depend,” the company said in its lawsuit. “Natural gas has played a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality, and natural gas and renewable gas remain critical to meeting California’s energy goals.”

The move was the latest pushback by natural gas companies concerned that California’s environmental and energy regulations will leave their assets stranded and worthless in the coming decades.

Senate Bill 100, signed by Brown in 2018, calls for load-serving entities to provide 100% carbon-free energy to retail customers by 2045. An executive order by Brown requires the state to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.

In addition to legal challenges, gas companies are advocating for their pipelines to carry up to 30% hydrogen produced using excess renewable energy. (See NARUC Panel: ‘Green’ Hydrogen Could Lower GHGs.)