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Gas trade associations have taken the state of New York to court over its ban on gas-run stoves and furnaces in new buildings, arguing it is against federal law and could raise the cost burden on consumers.
The state administration of Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul adopted the ban, a first in the country at the state level, as a component of its budget legislation passed May 2. To be gradually enforced from this year, it requires newly constructed buildings to forego fossil fuel equipment in favor of ones that run on electricity. The ban exempts existing buildings.
“The unintended consequences of this illegal law are widespread and could negatively affect residents and communities from Niagara to Riverhead”, said a statement by the plaintiffs led by the National Propane Gas Association, the New York Propane Gas Association and Mulhern Gas of Hudson.
They warned the ban could induce “a significant increase in energy prices”; inflate house prices; force businesses to downsize, close or relocate out of the state; and jeopardize “the reliability of an already overburdened electric grid”.
Filed before the District Court for the Northern District of New York, the suit is invoking the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) to seek declaratory and injunctive relief from the ban. Named as defendants are the New York Department of State, the state’s Fire Prevention and Building Code Council and officials of the two agencies.
The ban “directs the state fire prevention and building code council to prohibit the installation of systems that can be used for the combustion of fossil fuels in new construction”, states the All-Electric Building Act adopted with the state’s budget. Enforcement starts no later than December 31, 2023 for buildings under six stories, and no later than July 1, 2027 for buildings that are seven stories or more.
Exempted from the ban are emergency backup power systems and buildings designated as commercial food establishments, crematoriums, hospitals, laboratories or laundromats.
“Changing the ways we make and use energy to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels will help ensure a healthier environment for us and our children”, New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said in a statement about the ban posted on the assembly’s website May 2.
But such a ban had already been struck down by the Ninth Circuit in a case filed against Berkeley city, the suit against New York alleges.
“No statutory exemption to preemption applies to New York’s ban”, the suit states. “Nor does New York’s gas ban meet the statutory requirements for a waiver of preemption—and on information and belief, New York has not applied for a waiver”.
The plaintiffs argue the EPCA spells out that “one type of energy should not be favored over another in the areas it regulates”.
“EPCA thus expressly preempts state and local regulations concerning the energy efficiency and energy use of products for which EPCA sets energy conservation standards, leaving only narrow room for concurrent state and local regulations that meet certain stringent statutory conditions”, the suit says.
In a statement emailed to Rigzone, the New York Department of State said it was “reviewing this matter and cannot comment on pending litigation”.
To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com
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