Don't turn off the gas. We go all-electric at our peril - San Francisco Business Times

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The Bay Area's power outages during the recent storms shows the foolhardiness of banning gas, our columnist writes.

Our electricity went out during during that last big storm. The winds had wracked a nearby power pole and a line snapped. PG&E responded well, its crew working through a night of howling rain while we “glamped” at home. Like pioneers, we read by candlelight and went to bed early. Our experience was more lark — and less misery — only because our home also has gas. We could cook, shower and even warm ourselves in front of a gas fireplace.

Our power grid is growing more fragile as we overtax it. The summer’s commonplace blackouts are sometimes attributable to wildfires, but as often merely to demand arising from heat waves. Even without population growth, the state’s power requirements are mushrooming as our citizenry acquires one electrical device after another. By way of small example, we typically provided our tenants with 100 amps when we started in retail 40 years ago. Today, those same tenants demand 200-400 amps.

It’s not only electricity’s questionable reliability that should have our local governments reconsidering their natural gas ban, but its cost. While installing all-electric in a new home runs about the same as a traditional gas/electric system, its operating costs do not. According to the infallible internet, electricity is three to four times more expensive than natural gas. The cost of outlawing gas is even worse for commercial buildings.

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