Forced Electrification Initiatives to Ramp Up in 2022

As the HPBA Government Affairs team prepares for state legislative sessions to start, we anticipate that forced electrification will continue to find its way into the discussion, and not just on the West Coast. Whether in state legislatures, city councils or in building codes and regulations, environmental advocates are looking to hastily and fundamentally change energy consumption in the United States. New York’s City Council enacted a gas ban just last month that goes into effect 2023, the Des Moines city council is debating one, and the Denver City Council aims for “net-zero energy in the new building” by 2024. These few examples are an indication that this issue is spreading nationwide. We are not only fighting against these measures but helping to push fuel choice legislation in states without such a law. Fuel choice legislation has been enacted in 20 states in the past two years with several more states to consider how to preserve consumers’ access to a variety of fuels in the years to come. As mentioned in December’s Hot News, HPBA has recently brought Corey Krill on board as Manager – State Energy Policy to run point on industry’s response at the city and state levels. If you have electrification questions about your state or area, please contact Corey Krill.