That war on gas stoves? It is a war on all natural gas

Petar Petrov

Remember when we were assured that there is no war on natural gas stoves?

That was always a lie, of course. But it is bigger than just stoves. New York is banning all natural gas connections in new construction.

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Maybe when the Democrats and their MSM allies assured that gas stoves weren’t in the crosshairs they actually meant that not only gas stoves were going to be banned. Natural gas appliances of all types are going the way of the dinosaur.

“A milestone in the energy transition sought by climate activists.”

Those are the very same climate activists who are simultaneously conducting a war on efficient and reliable electricity generation.

Their goal: electrify everything, and make electricity scarce and unreliable.

New York has become the first state in the nation to pass a law banning natural gas and other fossil fuels in most new buildings, a move that could inspire other states and further erode the residential future of the gas industry.

Late Tuesday night, the New York legislature approved a $229 billion state budget that included a prohibition on gas in most new homes and other construction. It was a major victory for climate activists but is likely to face a court challenge from fossil fuel interests.

The law effectively requires all-electric heating and cooking in new buildings shorter than seven stories by 2026, and in 2029 for taller buildings. And although it allows exemptions for manufacturing facilities, restaurants, hospitals and even carwashes, the measure does not do what some climate activists had feared: give cities and counties license to override the ban.

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New York has the 3rd highest residential electricity rates in the country–already. Imagine the impact of transitioning gas appliances, especially heating, to electric power.

New Yorkers currently use less electricity per resident than in other places, largely because so many people are crammed into New York City where living space is limited. Their rates, though, are 50% higher than average.

Electrifying everything will be a 1-2 punch on consumers. Their use will skyrocket, the supply will not increase nearly fast enough, and the cost of everything will skyrocket.

Not that Democrats care about such minor matters. The rich and famous will have backup power–powered by fossil fuels, no doubt, while everybody else can learn to love their new socialist homeland.

This policy is both profoundly destructive and of course a betrayal of the assurances we have all been given. Assuming, of course, that people were stupid enough to take the Democrats at their word when the gas stove controversy got hot.

As usual, fighting the gas stove ban was engaging in the “culture war,” as if the Democrats weren’t the ones on offense against ordinary Americans.

Conservatives indeed are fighting in a culture war, but only because the culture is under constant attack. It’s the Left that is constantly starting the battles, and then blaming us for the fighting.

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Democrats are deadly serious about shutting down oil and gas use, and Biden is going full steam ahead on his anti-consumer agenda. Whether it is because they actually believe the “sky is falling” cries of climate activists or merely because of their commitment to controlling every aspect of our lives doesn’t matter in the end (it is probably a combination of both).

The practical effect is the same: the immiseration of the common man. Nobody in the elite needs to worry that their lifestyles are being upended. They can afford electric heat.

The rest of us? Not so much.

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