Berkeley voted unanimously to adopt a “first in the nation” ordinance in July 2019 that prohibited gas in all new construction. Berkeley’s gas ordinance was unique because it did not go through the traditional reach code route, which requires approval from the California Energy Commission (CEC). Instead, Berkeley used its city authority to phase out new gas hookups on the grounds of public health and safety.
The ordinance was widely supported by the community, including PG&E, East Bay Clean Energy, environmental and climate organizations, and green builders. Berkeley’s commitment is one of the strongest in the state, though other leadership cities and counties are looking at Berkeley’s model and thinking about how they can go even further.
Berkeley’s policy kicked off a whole movement of building electrification policies in the US and Canada.
In the California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley case, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that this policy approach, along with the building electrification policies of many other cities, was preempted by federal appliance policy. This put a chill on the movement, but neither Berkeley nor the movement stopped working to meet their clean air and climate goals.
In 2025, Berkeley passed a new groundbreaking policy that leverages the point of sale to bring modern updates to existing homes, including heat pumps, solar and storage, increased insulation and more. This policy also can be used by many other cities.
