San Mateo’s Sustainability and Infrastructure Commission voted to move ahead with the city’s proposed ordinance that would implement new energy codes to incentivize all-electric construction while adhering to new restrictions solidified by an appeals court earlier this year.
Over the last several years, most jurisdictions in San Mateo County, including San Mateo, have baked all-electric standards into their energy codes for new buildings. They are sometimes referred to as reach codes as they go beyond state-level mandates.
Berkeley passed one of the strictest requirements in 2019, which explicitly banned natural gas infrastructure in new developments, and while the code was struck down in 2023, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals finalized the decision earlier this year. That has meant many jurisdictions, including San Mateo, have suspended their reach codes to avoid legal challenges as a result.
But during an October meeting, the City Council discussed replacing its now-suspended code with a modified standard that is more legally defensible. The new proposed code is largely based off a model code developed by Peninsula Clean Energy — a public electricity provider throughout the county — which has also been adopted by other cities throughout the region.
Instead of explicitly requiring that new construction is all-electric, the new codes require adherence to a certain emissions and compliance score.
“The energy code establishes whole building efficiency requirements which account for water heating, HVAC, solar installation and more,” Sustainability Analyst Andrea Chow said. “The energy code also contains prescriptive and performance pathways for each building type. This allows builders some choices in how to meet the energy code requirements.”
While attaining the score is technically possible with a mix of gas and electric sources, it is significantly more cost effective to do so with all-electric appliances.
As both commissioners Rich Kranz and Susan Rowinski mentioned, however, there will eventually be more standards put in place for current homes, including installing electric appliances at the time of replacement. That could place significant financial burdens on those who may not have the means to do so, they said.
“We have to share this cost burden because it’s going to be a lot for existing homes,” Rowinski said. “We have to figure out a way that is, one, shared by all and is not offset by one set of stakeholders at the expense of another … how this is done is really critical.”
The code relies on several metrics used to calculate its rating and therefore compliance. The ratings vary depending on whether it is a single-family, multi-family or commercial building.
“To meet the higher standards in the reach code, new buildings can only include electric appliances and systems or gas and electric systems,” according to the staff report. For mixed-fuel buildings, additional measures, like solar or battery, would be necessary to meet the compliance standards. Unlike PCE’s model code, San Mateo would exempt accessory dwelling units.
By the time the city’s reach codes get approved by the state and officially adopted by the council, they’ll only be in effect for a little over a year before the state’s new energy codes go into effect. The commission unanimously approved the proposed ordinance, which will go before the City Council in January.