Several industry groups have filed a lawsuit to block New York’s controversial state ban on gas stoves and furnaces that came as dozens of Democrat-controlled cities and local governments took similar measures to fight the supposed dangers of climate change.
The plaintiffs, which also include several trade unions, argue that the ban is illegal because it conflicts with existing federal laws, and that its adoption would hurt businesses, spark layoffs, and trigger increases in energy prices.
“Hundreds of plumbers on Long Island rely on new construction to feed their families and pay their mortgages,” Jimmy Russo, president of the Plumbing Contractors Association of Long Island, said in a statement. “This illegal law has basically ripped the rug out from underneath them.”
Environmental groups criticized the lawsuit, citing climate change.
“Don’t believe the wealthy fossil fuel industry’s lies—lives, livelihoods, and wallets are already hugely impacted by climate change, and the All-Electric Buildings Act is critical to protecting all of these for New Yorkers,” a coalition of environmental groups, including the Gas Free NY alliance and Earthjustice, said in a statement.
The case, Mulhern Gas Co. v. Rodriguez, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.
‘They Can Go Electric’
In May, New York became the first state in the country to ban natural gas appliances and infrastructure when the state Legislature approved a new state budget that included a prohibition on fossil fuel combustion in most new buildings starting in 2026.The measure prohibits the installation of fossil fuel equipment in new buildings under seven stories by 2026 and in taller ones by 2029, effectively requiring all-electric heating and cooking.
There are exemptions for places such as hospitals, manufacturing facilities, and restaurants. Existing buildings are also exempt from the ban.
“Everybody who has a gas stove—enjoy it. Keep your gas stove,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in an appearance on FOX 5’s “Good Day New York” on May 2, 2023. “But new buildings that are going up, they can go electric, they can do heat pumps.”
At the time, Republican leaders in the state Senate opposed the measure, arguing that it would drive up utility bills.
“A first-in-the-nation, unconstitutional ban on natural gas hookups in new construction will drive up utility bills and increase housing costs,” New York state Senate Republican leader Rob Ortt said in a statement earlier this year.
Lee Zeldin, a former Republican congressman from Long Island and a former candidate for governor, criticized the Hochul administration’s priorities concerning the gas stove ban.
At the time, climate lobbyists pushed for the New York state gas stove ban to go into effect in 2025, with the final deal amounting to a compromise that pushed implementation back one year.
Challenging the Ban
The industry groups that are suing to block the prohibition are doing so on the legal premise that the ban is preempted by a federal law that regulates energy use, called the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA).“EPCA reflects Congress’s decision that the nation’s energy policy cannot be dictated by state and local governments,” their complaint states. “Such a patchwork approach would be the antithesis of a national energy policy.”
Earlier this year, a three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California unanimously struck down a similar ban on gas infrastructure in Berkeley, California, holding that the prohibition fell afoul of the EPCA and was therefore illegal.
“A mandate banning gas now is not reasonable or affordable, when New York’s grid is already overburdened,” Sarah Jorgensen, counsel for the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “And regardless, New York must comply with the law.”
However, it’s unclear whether the California precedent will hold, as the city has filed a petition for the case to be reheard with a larger 11-judge panel.
The Biden administration, which has made fighting climate change a major part of its policy platform, has filed an amicus brief in support of the city, arguing that gas appliance bans aren’t preempted by the EPCA.
Dozens of Democrat-controlled cities and local governments have approved policies similar to New York’s gas stove ban, with the issue becoming a flashpoint in the culture wars.
