Orange County Supervisors are joining a growing list of local elected officials to oppose a plan to gradually get residents to switch from gas-powered water heaters and furnaces to electric ones in the Southern California region.
[Read: Orange County Opposes Proposed Regional Gas-Powered Water Heater Crackdown]
The switch could cost a host of homeowners and landlords thousands of dollars because many older buildings would have to be rewired to fit the power needs of electric water heaters – along with installation costs.
“It is burdensome, and it’s costly to everyone in Orange County. There needs to be a more balanced, cost effective path forward, one that doesn’t put renters, seniors and working families at risk just to meet a narrow mandate – a mandate that ultimately has little effect on the environment or our ozone numbers,” OC Supervisor Janet Nguyen said at the May 20 meeting.
The proposal by the South Coast Air Quality Management District initially planned to ban the sale of new gas powered water heaters and furnaces entirely but was altered amid widespread criticism from local leaders across California that it would be too costly for residents.
Air quality management officials estimate it could cost nearly $20,000 to install an electric-powered space heater in a single family home.
Now, a revised version of the proposal plans to gradually dial back how many gas powered water heaters and furnace manufacturers can sell until 90% of the appliances sold in the region are considered zero emission starting in 2036.
Last week, Orange County Supervisors voted unanimously on a resolution opposing the proposal and urging regional air quality leaders to delay or withdraw their suggested regulations.
Nguyen, who sits on the air quality district’s governing board and brought forth the resolution, said even with the amendments to the proposal it will still hit the wallets of homeowners and renters.
“They are sweeping mandates that would touch nearly every home and apartment in our region at an enormous cost. And let’s just be honest, our constituents are already overwhelmed with rising utility bills, housing, food, fuel prices – you name it. These rules can add thousands – tens of thousands of dollars per household – and it doesn’t matter if you’re a renter or owner,” Nguyen said.
Proponents, including local environmentalist groups, argue a transition to zero emission appliances will reduce air pollution and prevent thousands of premature deaths, emergency room visits and onset asthma.
In March, the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter wrote a letter to the air quality management district in support of the amended proposal on behalf of over 600 people.
At the same time, the group worries that some of the changes have weakened the health benefits for residents in Southern California.
“Recent revisions to the rules driven by the fossil fuel industry and its allies have significantly delayed pollution reductions that communities living with some of the worst air quality in the country urgently need, while reducing overall pollution reductions,” they wrote.
The club is calling on the district to gradually raise mitigation fees on manufacturers and speed up the timeline on the shift to zero emission appliances.
South Coast Air Quality Management District leaders – who are responsible for improving air quality in a region home to 17 million people – say the region is one of the most polluted in the nation.
Cecilia GĂłmez Reyes, spokesperson for the district, said the proposed regulations could reduce an estimated 6 tons of smog-forming nitrogen oxide emissions a day, reducing pollution and protecting public health.
“For context, by 2037, passenger vehicles are expected to emit 7 tons per day while refineries are expected to emit 4 tons per day,” reads a Thursday email from Reyes.
“The rule will also result in significant health benefits in the South Coast region including preventing 2,490 premature deaths and other health improvements valued at $25.43 billion.”
Reyes also said they have been regulating building appliances since the 1970s and district leaders have previously argued that the amended version of the rule still allows residents to choose gas-powered appliances.
“The current version of the rule establishes targets for manufacturers to sell zero-emission space and water heaters. The initial targets are set at a level that is reflective of current sales of zero-emission units. Further, buildings that have central air conditioning installed already have sufficient power supply to power heat pumps,” reads her email
Still, Nguyen said it wouldn’t be a voluntary transition.
“These rules mandate the removal of natural gas appliances and force households to switch to electric whether they are ready or not. It’s disguised as a choice, but if you don’t choose correctly, you must pay,” she said.
Supervisor Don Wagner, who previously sat on the air quality district’s governing board, said pushback against the rules has been so prominent that air quality leaders were forced to make revisions and respond – something he said they rarely do.
“But they have not walked it back far enough. It needs to be taken off the table completely, even in its current form, it goes way too far,” Wagner said at the May 20 meeting
“There have been lots of cities — bipartisan agreement among city council members that this is not the way to go in the Southern California area.”
City council members in Anaheim, Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, Fullerton, Fountain Valley, San Clemente, Dana Point, Yorba Linda, Brea, Lake Forest and Villa Park are also against the proposed regulations.
So have state legislators like Assemblywoman Diane Dixon and Assemblywoman Laurie Davies, who say they support improving air quality in the region but not burdening residents with high costs.
At last week’s meeting, Brian De Franco – a representative of Davies – read a letter to OC Supervisors from the Assemblywoman in support of Nguyen’s resolution.
“These proposed rules have not shown that they will make any substantive improvements for Orange County residents. Yet the pain homeowners will feel to their pocketbooks as they are forced to construct spaces for bigger devices, rewire for new electronic designs and pay for electricity with appliances pulling an already unstable power supply will be significant,” he read.
“Water heaters and furnaces are not luxury items. They are necessities.”
Representatives from the OC Business Council and the Association of California Cities – Orange County also came out to Tuesday’s supervisor meeting against the air quality management district’s proposal for similar reasons.
Kris Murray, former Anaheim Councilwoman and executive director of the association, said there are also concerns about the reliability of the region’s electrical grid and how much the rules would actually improve the area’s air quality.
“Our region’s electric grid already faces significant challenges, from mandated wildfire related shut offs to brownouts during heat waves. Removing natural gas without a reliable backup undermines community resilience,” Murray said at the May 20 meeting
Proposed Regulations on Gas-Powered Appliances and Costs
Under the revised proposal from the South Coast Air Quality Management District, 30% of water heaters and furnaces sold in the region would have to be zero emission appliances by 2027-2028.
That threshold would increase over the years and by 2036, 90% of the water heaters and furnaces sold in the region would have to be electric.
The proposal would also require manufacturers to pay $100 for all gas furnaces and $50 for all gas water heaters after 2027 as part of a mitigation fee.
Manufacturers would also have to pay $500 for every gas powered furnace and $250 for every gas powered water heater that exceeds the year’s threshold and get a discounted fee if they meet the zero emission threshold.
The money collected from the fee could go toward helping fund the Go Zero initiative – a $21 million pilot incentive program by the South Coast Air Quality Management District to offer rebates to families and small businesses that convert to zero emission appliances.
At the same time, regional air quality officials estimate it will cost $19,000 for a single family home to buy, make any electrical upgrades and install a zero emission space heater and $19,000 to install a gas space heater for a single family home.
For a multifamily home it is estimated to cost between $5,000 to $10,000 for a zero emission space heater and between $3,000 to $8,000 for a gas heater.
Regional air quality officials estimate it will cost $4,000 to $7,000 to buy, make any electrical upgrades and install a zero emission water heater and $3,300 to buy and install a gas water heater.
They are expected to consider the proposed rules at a public hearing on June 6.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that the air quality management district estimated it would cost nearly $20,000 to install an electric water heater for a single family home. The district estimates it will cost nearly $20,000 for an electric space heater for a single family home. They estimate it would cost up to $7,000 to transition to an electric water heater. We regret the error.
​​Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @ElattarHosam.