On July 18, the City Council voted to promote electric-only construction in all future buildings. Unfortunately, without new sources of electrical energy, and an overload on the current grid, this decision to eliminate the natural gas option is going to drive prices sky high.
As it is, many cities are now going in the opposite direction. Encinitas, for example, recently decided to suspend electric-only “green” construction policies.
It’s true that the Carlsbad City Council voted only to “promote” electricity-only, but the reality is that developers need better direction in order to minimize construction costs. Imagine the waste of time and effort if a developer installs a gas-electricity combination into a home or building only to waste the gas option if the council decides to set a firm direction.
Councilwoman Teresa Acosta has expressed a desire to move faster and more decisively to update building codes to be electricity-only. She cites the city’s climate emergency that was declared in 2021.
She did not seem to have an answer as to electrical generation and how that part of the equation needs to be addressed as well.
As all Californians know, blackouts, brownouts, and scheduled electrical outages are not uncommon. Recall, for example, that residents last summer were asked to cut back on electric vehicle charging. It’s already normal for us to cut back on air conditioning and other high-voltage needs like pools and spas.
Stay tuned.