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OaklandRedevelopmentSuccessorAgencyandtheCityCouncil,2020-12-01,"* Concurrent Meeting of the
Meeting Minutes - FINAL
December 1, 2020
Oakland Redevelopment Successor
Agency and the City Council
""As set forth in the City's November 2, 2020 Staff Report to City Council, the City
Council also finds that this Ordinance and its local amendments are cost-effective.
The transition to all-electric buildings envisioned in the 2030 ECAP and required by
the City's proposed Carbon Neutrality Resolution must begin with new
construction, where it is easiest and most cost-effective. In 2019, costs for
all-electric new construction were already either on par with or less than those for
mixed-fuel (i.e., electricity plus natural gas) construction. (See 2019
Cost-Effectiveness Study: Low-Rise Residential Construction prepared by Frontier
Energy Inc. and Misti Bruceri & Associates, LLC and 2019 Nonresidential New
Construction Reach Code Cost Effectiveness Study prepared by TRC and Energy
Soft).
All-electric construction avoids the need for redundant infrastructure going to and
within buildings, which reduces overall construction costs. Letters from Stone
Energy Associates and Redwood Energy to the California Energy Commission
in
2017 described the significant net cost savings per unit in multifamily projects due
to the avoidance of costly trenching and gas infrastructure. In 2018, the Rocky
Mountain Institute found that new single-family, all-electric homes could ""save
$1,000 to more than $24,000 per single-family home, with a median value of
$8,800. The Natural Resources Defense Council also found that all-electric new
multi-family construction saw ""upfront capital savings, partly [as] a result of not
piping for gas."" If the cost savings from avoiding gas infrastructure are invested in
onsite photovoltaic (solar) energy generation, an all-electric building can be less
expensive to operate from day one even without factoring in the reduced
construction costs.
Moreover, as the Bay Area region experiences more and more extreme heat events,
more Oaklanders are choosing to install air conditioning. Heat pumps-the most
common efficient electric alternative to a gas furnace-provide both heating and
cooling, avoiding the need for two separate systems.
Operating costs of all-electric buildings are similarly favorable. Modern electric
appliances are significantly more efficient than gas appliances, using fewer units
of
energy for the same work. Electric heat pump water heaters are up to five times
more efficient than gas water heaters. Moreover, electric energy costs can be offset
through local renewable generation such as rooftop solar, while gas must be
purchased from an outside source. All-electric buildings can achieve net-zero
operational costs, which is impossible for buildings with gas appliances.
While gas rates are currently less than those of electricity, trends show it increasing
at a faster pace. As more buildings become all-electric, gas infrastructure will
become more costly to maintain, which will drive up gas rates further. The trend
toward all-electric buildings statewide is clear, with an increasing number of cities
pursuing all-electric local building codes, and a Statewide mandate for carbon
neutrality by 2045.
Higher gas rates will increasingly fall on low-income households who have the
highest energy cost burden to begin with. By ensuring that new buildings are
all-electric, the City can better ensure that the benefits of decarbonized
buildings-from improved public health to lower and more stable energy bills-can
accrue to frontline communities.
A motion was made by Loren Taylor, seconded by Noel Gallo, that this matter be
Adopted. The motion carried by the following vote:
City of Oakland
Page 42
Printed on 12/16/2020",43,OaklandRedevelopmentSuccessorAgencyandtheCityCouncil/2020-12-01.pdf