“Keep It In the Ground” activists have begun to focus on limiting demand for natural gas in their efforts to stop its production. Most recently, a small city 85 miles north of Seattle made national headlines when it announced it was considering a ban on all residential natural gas heating – a move that would be costly for residents.
Bellingham, Washington, joins a few dozen cities on the West Coast and in Massachusetts pursuing a costly, misguided, and dangerous campaign against natural gas. Last summer, Berkeley, California became the first city in the country to ban the installation of natural gas lines in new construction. The policy disregarded the high prices of electricity, impact on lower-income families, and consumer preferences for natural gas. Since then, cities have been one-upping one another in increasingly self-congratulatory policies that have little regard for facts or the impacts of these actions.
Bellingham goes even farther than Berkeley with its proposal. It would not only ban natural gas heating in new construction, but also remove all existing natural gas infrastructure in existing homes and businesses, forcing consumers with natural gas heating to replace it with an electric system. The proposal would make Bellingham the first city in the country to ban all natural gas residential heating.
Unfortunately for consumers, such a policy would have real consequences. A natural gas ban in residences disregards key facts about natural gas usage in homes and would cause more harm than good for both the environment and the people of Bellingham.
A Natural Gas Ban Wouldn’t be Effective in Reducing Emissions
Local officials who discuss these bans forget the crucial role natural gas has played in saving millions of metric tons of CO2 emissions over the past 15 years. A ban on natural gas would risk reversing this progress.
Fortunately, some residents and experts realize that there are quicker, simpler, and cheaper ways to reduce emissions than obsessing over home heating. For instance, local real estate agent Mary Kay Robinson proposed the city boosts its efforts in making existing properties more energy efficient instead of a natural gas ban. Her solution would reduce household emissions approximately 40 percent and at a fraction of the cost of converting a home to electric heat. Similarly, Todd Myers, Director of the Center for the Environment at Washington Policy Center, noted that planting trees and improving methane capture at landfills would make a much larger impact than a natural gas ban.
In fact, local businesses, unions, and utilities are banding together in a group called, “Partners for Energy Progress,” to remind Bellingham’s city council of these facts. Launched in November, the coalition plans to spend $1 million to highlight the benefits the region has enjoyed from natural gas.
$13,100 is a Lot of Money, Especially to More Vulnerable Populations
Washington is the cheapest state to live in based on residential electricity rates, which amount to 9.67 cents per kWh as of December, and has the fifth lowest electricity rate in the United States. Natural gas, available in abundance via pipeline from Canada, plays a large role in keeping these prices low. Banning natural gas heating would change this.
The very task force that recommended a ban to Bellingham’s city council estimated that installing an electric heat pump system costs $6,200 to $13,100 more than a natural gas furnace. Under the proposal, residents living in buildings with existing natural gas systems would have no choice but to shell out thousands of dollars to convert their home. This expense would disproportionately harm small businesses and lower-income households. Robinson expressed concern that local senior citizens may not be able to afford this, and that the policy could exacerbate Bellingham’s housing affordability problem.
The New York Times profiled a few members of the community who support the proposal, one who spent $28,000 installing a forced-air heat pump system and is planning on dropping another $8,000 on an electrical heat pump. Not everyone in the city can afford to shoulder such costs; indeed, this does not reflect the economic reality of most of Bellingham.
According to census data, Bellingham’s poverty rate is 21.8% and the median household income is $50,844. That means installing a natural gas system would cost 20% of an average household’s yearly income. On top of this, Bellingham already has an astronomically high cost of living, driven by its high home prices. The median home price in Bellingham is $428,900 (compared to the rest of Washington at $381,300). In 2016, the city’s rising home values earned it a place on the list of 50 worst cities in America to live in. A policy forcing the installation of more pricey gas heating systems would make homes even more expensive.
Consumers Prefer Natural Gas
In addition to high costs, Washington consumers prefer natural gas to electric heating. A 2016 Market Strategies International study that surveyed homeowners in Portland, Salem and Vancouver found that 90% of new and future homeowners prefer natural gas.
From the study:
Energy Cost Savings are Higher with Natural Gas
Supporters of the proposal argue that long-term savings eventually offset high upfront installation costs. But it’s not as simple as that. A closer look at the key differences between the natural gas and electricity extraction, transportation, and distribution systems reveals that natural gas heating is way more efficient – and therefore cheaper.
A 2018 study from the American Gas Association found that households that used natural gas appliances consumed less total energy than their electrical counterparts because the natural gas system is more energy efficient than the electric system. The natural gas system is so efficient that 91.5 percent of all gas at the wellhead makes it to end use for the consumer. On the other hand, 68 percent of electrical energy is lost during the process spanning production to end use. This means that three times more natural gas energy than electric energy ultimately reaches the consumer.
Due to this efficiency, and the low price of natural gas, homeowners with natural gas appliances spend half as much on their annual utility energy bills compared to all-electric homes, and all-electric homes spend, on average, $892 more on home energy than natural gas homes. Claims that installing a more expensive, electric system will ultimately reap savings just don’t hold up to the data.
It’s Not Too Late for Bellingham
So far, the proposed ban on natural gas heating is just that – a proposal. Local outlets report that the city might take the issue up in 18 months, around June 2021. The city council has promised to hold meetings for public feedback, after which the proposal must pass a vote in the council before it becomes law. This gives consumers plenty of time to become more educated on the potential impacts a ban that removes consumer choice for heating could have on them.
