San Mateo County halts all-electric mandate

San Mateo County temporarily suspended its all-electric mandate for new developments, as it navigates legal ambiguity arising from a court case invalidating Berkeley’s natural gas ban last year.

The temporary hold for the rule, which had stipulated that all new buildings be fully electric, only applies to the unincorporated areas of the county, however, some Peninsula cities are also reassessing their own energy codes, commonly referred to as reach codes, which go beyond state-level mandates. 

Berkeley passed an ordinance in 2019 disallowing natural gas infrastructure in new developments, but the code was struck down last April, and the appeals court solidified the decision in January by rejecting a rehearing filed by the city in May.

The difference between the East Bay city’s ordinance and other all-electric codes, including San Mateo County’s, mostly comes down to technicalities. Berkeley’s was passed through municipal code rather than building code, for instance, and it also prohibits the installation of any natural gas connections in new developments, with certain exceptions, while other jurisdictions’ reach codes may permit a gas connection but still require electric appliances. 

But Susan Wright, program manager for the San Mateo County Sustainability Department, said the language in the court’s ruling could still leave the county’s energy codes at risk, hence the reevaluation.

“What we’ve been hearing is that the nature of the ruling from the Ninth Circuit is such that it didn’t matter what code it was, we’d have to take a slightly different approach,” Wright said.

The county implemented the reach code suspension Feb. 2 and hopes to introduce an updated code by the end of the year at the latest. Wright added the county aims to move quickly on this so as “not to create a limbo situation” for developers.

The department is working with Peninsula Clean Energy, a public electricity provider throughout the county, to bolster the updated codes. The new mandates will be tethered to air quality and energy use in a building, rather than explicitly requiring all-electric buildings. 

“The new model code does provide options in that there is a performance target for overall energy use. It doesn’t matter whether gas or electric is used, as long as you meet that performance target. It just so happens that today’s electric appliances are extremely efficient, so they would have an advantage,” Rafael Reyes, director of Energy Programs at Peninsula Clean Energy, said.

Wright added the pause on reach code enforcement is not indicative of a shift in long-term decarbonization goals. She said the county maintains its goal that by 2030, 16% of buildings in the unincorporated areas are all electric and 100% are all electric by 2040. 

Contra Costa County has also suspended enforcement of its reach codes, with the Board of Supervisors halting the all-electric requirement during a Feb. 27 meeting.