A group of South Bay business leaders and opponents of regulation are asking air regulators in the Bay Area to stop an upcoming ban on installing gas water heaters, which is scheduled to begin next year.
Hundreds assembled in front of the Santa Clara County Building on Monday afternoon to join an event hosted by the Silicon Valley Business Alliance. This was an opportunity to express dissent before a significant vote by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) board, which approved a strategy to eliminate boilers and heaters that release nitrogen oxide emissions in 2023.
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On Wednesday, the district is set to review the possibility of grantingone-time exemptionsfrom the restriction to various groups, including low-income homeowners as well as those residing in homes that are not well-suited forsuch retrofitsThe critics of the water heater regulations—set to be implemented in 2029 with a regional restriction on new gas-powered heaters—claim the policy will catch too many homeowners and businesses unprepared, requiring them to undertake expensive electrical changes.
No one has an idea of the actual cost or the time it will take to secure upgrades from PG&E. There are numerous uncertainties surrounding this,” said Johnny Khamis, President of the Alliance and a former member of the San Jose City Council, to San José Spotlight. “It’s unjust for (BAAQMD) to require actions when they aren’t aware of the impact on all parties.
At the event, organizers encouraged attendees to express their issues to the South Bay officials who are part of the district’s board. The 24-person board, composed of elected representatives from across the bay region, consists of three members from Santa Clara County — County Board President Otto Lee, Mountain View Vice Mayor Chris Clark, and Sunnyvale City Councilmember Linda Sell.
Worried that the pressure campaign could prevail, advocates of the ban — who aim to restrict pollution —gas emissionsheld accountable for significant health issues — have also been conducting their own community engagement initiatives.
A distinct group — comprising several South Bay elected officials, business experts, environmental activists, air quality advocates, and religious organizations — has been contacting district leaders, encouraging them to stick with their initial timeline. Organizers claim that the worries regarding the ban’s implementation have been greatly exaggerated, stating that numerous rebate initiatives have made electric appliance upgrades affordable for most households. They argue that the proposed exceptions, which district officials believe will affect 38% of new water heater installations, will provide enough time to adjust.
These appliance regulations have taken many years to develop,” said Angela Evans, a program director at Menlo Spark, to San José Spotlight. “Further delays in putting them into effect will lead to more early deaths and adverse health effects for residents in the Bay Area, with young children being particularly at risk.
District officials have projected that the new guidelines will avert around 85 early deaths
annual deaths and 15,000 asthma attacks in the Bay Area.
Air district officials admit that heat pump water heaters are more expensive — typically $3,500 more, according to the agency’s calculation — to buy and install compared to conventional gas models. Nevertheless, state and local agencies have introduced rebate initiatives to reduce this expense. For instance, customers of San Jose Clean Energy can qualify for rebates ranging from $2,000 to $3,000, as reported by the district.
However, those who oppose the ban claim that these numbers do not fully reflect the actual financial strain that many property owners will experience. They caution that numerous older homes with limited electrical capacity may have to pay for expensive electrical panel upgrades, or even improvements to utility services, which could increase the cost of a renovation by thousands of dollars.
Dan Pan, representing a group that supports small-scale landlords in the Bay Area, addressed the audience at Monday’s event and cautioned that the expenses could force many to close their businesses.
The existing approach doesn’t merely control structures. It endangers the stability of thousands of small housing providers and the residents who rely on them,” Pan stated at the gathering. “We cannot remain quiet while dedicated families are placed in danger.
Nevertheless, advocates of the ban argued that only a small portion of properties will require significant improvements to accommodate electric appliances.
A city research organization named SPUR references a study that examined 1,700 residences with a 100-amp electrical panel, a common setup in older buildings. The study revealed that 96% of these homes could install both a heat-pump water heater and a heat-pump heating and cooling system without requiring an electrical panel upgrade.
Fans also reference cost projections indicating that houses equipped with electric devices reduce utility expenses.
If you’re discussing affordability, you truly need a high-efficiency electric appliance, rather than a gas one,” James Tuleya, a home electrification specialist who helps homeowners, said to San José Spotlight. “Although the initial project cost may be higher for heat pumps, the savings on utility bills over time more than compensate for that.
In recent years, several South Bay cities – such as Campbell, Los Gatos,San Jose, Cupertino, Milpitas, and Santa Clara — have implemented measures toreduce building emissions, including actions to prohibit gas connections in new buildings. However, these initiatives have been challenged by a 2024 appellate court ruling that reversed such a prohibition in Berkeley.
Supervisor Lee expressed approval for the flexible changes scheduled to be reviewed on Wednesday.
“I am eager to keep talking about changes related to flexibility and affordability to make sure people with low incomes, small businesses, and those dealing with infrastructure issues get the help they need during this change,” he said to San José Spotlight.
Reach out to Keith Menconi via email at [email protected] or follow him on X as @KeithMenconi.
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