Californiaâs Misguided War on Natural Gas
Unintended consequences can be a cruel mistress.
A SoCalGas plant is surrounded by residential homes in Los Angeles, Jan. 12, 2017.
Photo:
Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg News
Dec. 23, 2020 3:08 pm ET
Regarding Allysia Finleyâs op-ed âNow Weâre Cooking With Gas. But Tomorrow?â (Dec. 17): Forbidding natural-gas connections in new buildings ensures that more, not less, natural gas will be consumed to meet the new demand for electricity. Similarly, government mandates for electric vehicles, space heating and cooking will increase the total amount of natural gas burned.
Natural gas consumed as a fuel to heat or cook is more than 90% efficient, while electricity produced from natural gas is at best 60% efficient. This means that boiling a pot of water on an electric stove uses 150% as much natural gas as a gas stove. This is before any consideration is given to the inefficiencies of induction heating or losses in transmission.