We Can Electrify Everything

To Newton City Councilors

Fr Ellie Goldberg, Newton 02459

Da June 11, 2024

RE: Gas Stoves, BERDO, etc

Dear City Councilors,

We need to stop wasting our energy dollars on gas and invest in modern systems that provide safe, reliable, clean and affordable year-round comfort into the future.

As you debate whether to lock the city into an unsustainable dependency on gas for decades to come or to switch to clean non-combustible energy for our heating and cooling, hot water and cooking, I urge you to read Buried Grudges, one of three articles by Nicholas Pevzner, Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, UPenn, Weitzman School of Design.

It describes New York City’s shift in 1951 from extremely toxic coal-based “manufactured gas” to so-called “natural gas” (methane) that necessitated a complete overhaul of the gas production and delivery system. It was a massive operation to convert every gas-burning appliance, with technicians visiting every customer to retrofit their devices…it also made obsolete the entire infrastructure of gas production within the city limits.   

On the appliance side, Con Edison had 1.4 million customers with an average of two appliances each, while Brooklyn Union had 350,000 customers with a total of two million appliances…“Con Edison was able to employ many of the workers at the manufactured gas plants that were being mothballed, and the conversion team grew to 1,100 employees during the final stage of its work, the conversion of Manhattan.” Brooklyn Union did the same for all of its customers in 1952.

Thus Pevzner concludes "...the history of the conversion of every appliance in New York City over the span of a few short years in the 1950s should inspire advocates of the “electrify everything” movement that large-scale appliance conversion is indeed possible..." Buried Grudges, Nicholas Pevzner  

Any exemptions and delays will be costly. Experts predict that homeowners using gas only for cooking will also see costs rise as there will be fewer gas customers sharing both the cost of operating and maintaining the gas system as well as the cost of the gas pipe replacements." According to the Groundwork Data report, The Future of Gas, Massachusetts gas heating bills are set to double and triple in coming years, spurring ‘Retrofits of Regret’ from homebuyers stuck with fossil fuel equipment.  

Our future is in our hands. We can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce risks of gas explosions and fires, improve indoor and outdoor air quality, protect ratepayers from charges for gas lost to leaks, and avoid expensive retrofits in the future. 

No exceptions.  No delays. It is time to electrify everything.

__________

Pipeline Territories  With natural gas dependency on the rise, thousands of miles of pipe connect New York City to a vast and dangerous geography of extraction. Nicholas Pevzner • Nov 28, 2018

Buried Grudges  From deadly explosions to silent climate warming emissions, the contemporary troubles of the city's gas infrastructure have roots in the tumult surrounding its installation more than a century ago. Nicholas Pevzner • Oct 11, 2018

Gas Flows Below Paint-scribbled sigils mark the spots where pipes bear natural gas — more now than ever — to stove tops and turbines. But what does this trend mean for public safety and climate change? Nicholas Pevzner • Sep 12, 2018