Officials from the Department of Justice and Department of Energy urged federal judges Monday to reverse their decision overturning a ban on natural gas hookups in new buildings in Berkeley, California.
Laid out in a court filing known as a “friend of the court” brief, the Biden administration’s position would mean residents in such buildings would no longer be able to use natural gas-powered stoves, contrary to past statements that the White House does not support a ban on the common household cooking appliance.
Berkeley’s ordinance was the first of its kind in 2019, paving the way for dozens of localities across the nation to try and phase out gas stoves — and promote electric-powered alternatives — citing health and environmental concerns. But the city quickly faced a legal challenge from the California Restaurant Association, an industry that heavily relies on natural gas cooking.
A three-judge panel under the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Berkeley’s ordinance in April, ruling that it violated the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which gives the federal government the authority to set energy efficiency standards. The ruling could jeopardize similar ordinances in dozens of other liberal cities in addition to New York, which became the first state in May to prohibit natural gas hookups in most new buildings.
Gas stoves have become a leading culture war issue as conservatives have battled efforts by the Department of Energy to impose new efficiency standards that would render at least half of currently available models on the market noncompliant.
Roughly 40% of U.S. households currently use fossil fuel-powered appliances, but Democrats and climate activists have urged Americans to switch to the electric equivalent to slash methane emissions harmful to the environment and respiratory health.
Administration officials in their Monday filing asked for a rehearing, saying that overturning Berkeley’s ban “cast a cloud of uncertainty over any health or safety law that may indirectly affect someone’s ability to use a product for which the federal government has issued an energy conservation standard.”
“The ordinance prohibits the installation of certain energy infrastructure in new construction. It thereby affects, indirectly, the circumstances in which some products may be used in some locations,” the Justice and Energy Department officials wrote.
President Biden, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and the head of the independent Consumer Product Safety Commission have sought to combat intense scrutiny from Republicans, the energy sector, consumers and even some Democrats on Capitol Hill, who warn that the administration is on course to regulate new gas stoves out of existence.
Ms. Granholm told lawmakers last month that new efficiency rules are required periodically, and that the administration is simply complying with the law and had no intention of banning the gas appliance or forcing cooks to abandon their current models.
“I will say that the Department of Energy is not banning any gas stoves, that we are doing our duty to make sure that appliances are more energy efficient, as we are required to do under the Energy Policy Conservation Act of 1975,” she told the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “Nobody’s taking my gas stove. Nobody will take your gas stove.”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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