Bay Area to Eliminate Natural Gas Appliances in Favor of Electric

The San Francisco Bay Area will phase out natural gas-powered furnaces and water heaters beginning in 2027 to improve local air quality and public health. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) adopted rules that will require new water heaters and furnaces to have zero emissions of nitrogen oxides, or NOx. Eliminating natural gas appliances would mean transitioning to electric equipment such as heat pumps. The rules will prevent up to 85 premature deaths per year and save up to $890 million a year in health-care costs and lost work.