Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A recent ruling by a federal judge moves New York State one step closer to allowing all new builds to not be allowed access to natural gas.
This ruling leaves local builders like Dominic Cortese and others worried.
"We had hoped that there would be some movement to delay or revamp, or somehow re-examine the whole philosophy of this ludicrous policy. But that indeed is not happening," said Cortese in an interview with WBEN. "Probably the most ridiculous thing is that we will have no plan in place for power outage. There is no provision for allowing for gas generators. In fact, gas lines are no longer going to be required to be put down street, so gas availability will go away in a new neighborhood, so a new house 100% electric will have no backup plan for power."
As Cortese points out, that can be lethal, as we learned in the 2022 Christmas blizzard.
"The electrical grid is not a sure fire, 100% guaranteed way to heat our homes. The fact that the power can go out, even with a windstorm, is an indication that we shouldn't be putting our eggs in the basket of something that's not 100% reliable," Cortese said. "Conversely, we know that natural gas is 100% reliable. Natural gas outages are never, ever heard of."
He adds because of this, home prices will go up.
"Everything that is going to be built will have to be built with the idea of it being sustainable," Cortese explained. "Examples include the electrical service. The electrical service will have to be upwards of 400 amps, where a standard home now has a 200 amp service, the heating will have to be with a heat pump. Probably a standard size home of 2,500 square feet or so will require two heat pumps. So basically, it's like having two furnaces, so twice the utility consumption from that."
Cortese feels the new state requirement will put builders in a predicament.
"We are living through a housing shortage. We don't have enough homes in New York State, now we're increasing the cost of building a home. How is that a positive move towards being able to build more homes," Cortese pondered.