Legislative Report
Kook K. Dean - Interim Vice President Legislative
May 2024
From USA TODAY:
USA Today News Story Offers Confusing Justification for Getting Rid of Natural Gas Cooking Appliances.
In response to requests from AGA BECS Committee members, Codes and Standards staff reviewed the Monday, November 11th USA Today story, “No More Fire in the Kitchen: Cities are Banning Natural Gas in Homes to Save the Planet,” written by USA Today’s national correspondent, Elizabeth Weise. The story presents a number of disparate, unconnected claims regarding bans of natural gas being promulgated in various community actions around the U. S., including the following:
The article stresses that bans are associated with “new building codes,” when in fact they are a consequence of local legislative initiatives, not development through established code development processes.
A “nation’s shift to carbon-neutral energy sources” is presumed by the author (inferring a “phase out” of natural gas) while admitting the growth of natural gas customers, citing an anecdote from AGA concerning customer growth.
Natural gas emissions are cited as a primary source of carbon dioxide emissions but are referenced for natural gas power generation, not direct use in natural gas cooking or other consumer uses. In fact, direct use of natural gas for cooking would reduce carbon dioxide emissions from cooking by roughly two-thirds over electric cooking using current electrical grid supplies.
No natural gas usage or direct carbon dioxide emissions are reported, so that presumed climate benefits from eliminating natural gas cooking are claimed or substantiated.
No mention of consumer safety is made, while fires from residential cooking are roughly double for electric cooking when compared to gas-fired cooking.
The article extols the benefits of electric induction cooking without accounting for direct costs of the technology, indirect costs of suitable kitchen utensils, and potential safety issues related to electromagnetic field (EMF) generation.
AGA contribution to the story involved the customer growth anecdote mentioned earlier (estimated at one new natural gas customer added every minute) and description of the costs of all-electric construction. The anti-gas cooking stories continue to emerge as partial justification for “electrification” and BECS Committee members have urged information be prepared to counter this type of confused negative, information that can be cited at model code hearings or during state or local adoptions for justifying the removal of or prohibiting new natural gas applications.
Jim Ranfone | Managing Director, Codes and Standards
American Gas Association
400 N. Capitol St., NW | Washington, DC | 20001
P: 202-824-7310 | F: 202-824-9120 | [email protected]
The American Gas Association represents more than 200 local energy companies committed to the safe and reliable delivery of clean natural gas to nearly 69 million customers throughout the nation.
