The City of Oakland has been legally directed to suspend the requirement that all newly constructed buildings be all-electric as per Oakland Municipal Code 15.37
Oakland's City Council set ambitious climate targets that require electrifying all buildings as rapidly as possible. As an important first step, in December 2020, the City began requiring all new construction to be all-electric. Ava Community Energy (formerly known as East Bay Community Energy) supported this effort by commissioning a cost-effectiveness study of all-electric new construction that showed both upfront and lifetime cost effectiveness for nearly all building types. The City of Oakland is continuing to develop its Building Electrification Roadmap with multiple opportunities for public engagement and community dialogue. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has also passed new zero-nitrous oxide appliance standards for new furnaces and water heaters, starting in 2027.
Financial assistance is available for building electrification. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) directs billions of dollars into the hands of Americans for clean energy investments. This includes rebates and tax credits for electrification projects, such as installing solar, upgrading electric panels if necessary, installing electric vehicle chargers, and switching to a heat pump water heater, electric clothes dryer, induction stove, or heat pump. To learn how you can take advantage of these incentives over the next few years, check out our incentives and rebates webpage.
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Resources and Articles about Building Electrification:
- Learn more about all-electric, efficient appliances
- Información Sobre la Electrificación de Edificios en Español
- 建築物電氣化中文資訊
- For contractors and jobseekers
- For residential property owners and renters
- For business and commercial property owners
- Service upgrades for electrification retrofits
- Examples of all-electric Oakland homes
- Health and safety research on gas and the economics of a just transition
- Getting to Zero database from New Buildings Institute
- California Energy Commission's Building and Home Energy Resource Hub
- Building electrification general information flyer (English, Chinese, Spanish)
- Check out and share our Instagram videos, produced by Oakland artist, Maddy Clifford, as part of the Cultural Stratgist in Government program.
