A war on natural gas being waged by provincial and municipal governments in B.C. in the name of addressing climate change is starting to get pushback from a disparate array of businesses and labour unions.
Members of a new lobby group called the BC Coalition for Affordable Dependable Energy includes restaurateurs and electricians, natural gas fireplace manufacturers, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Greater Vancouver and Surrey boards to trade, and several trade unions, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 213 and UA Local 170 (plumbers, pipefitters and building trades).
"IBEW Local 213 is pleased to work with other labour, business and community groups to ensure that British Columbia has the energy it needs, when and where it needs it,” said IBEW Local 213 business manager Jim Lofty.
The association, which had 19 members and counting as of Friday afternoon, is lobbying municipal governments to pump the brakes on new Zero Carbon Step Code regulations that effectively ban natural gas in new commercial and residential buildings with strict GHG intensity standards.
“Our main goal right now is to say to municipalities that are considering speeding up the Zero Carbon Step Code, think long and hard about this and don’t rush into something,” said the association’s spokesman, Bill Tieleman, president of West Star Communications.
“Those municipalities that have made these decisions, we’d like them to reconsider…and look at the impact it’s going to have on businesses located in your municipality and beyond, and workers, and retailers like the fireplace and stove manufacturers.”
The Zero Carbon Step Code was introduced last year under the BC Building Code, and several municipal governments have been racing to implement it, effectively preventing new commercial or residential buildings from getting natural gas connections, which would means most of these new buildings will have to rely exclusively on electricity for heating and cooking.
The problem is that the dates for implementation are all over the map, which has created a “crazy quilt” for the building trades, Tieleman said.
“Instead of waiting for 2030, when the provincial legislation requires some of these changes, they’re saying we’re going to do this and we’re going to do this fast,” Tieleman said. “Some have come into effect already. Some come into effect on July 1.
“What it results in is a patchwork of energy regulation, which is not helpful for business, or labour or the economy, because you can imagine, if you are a homebuilder, for example, what you can do in Surrey, you can’t do in Burnaby or Richmond, but you can do in White Rock.
“To me it doesn’t make sense from a policy perspective that you allow municipalities to become effectively mini energy regulators.”
Besides being a headache for people in the building trades, the natural gas ban on new builds poses some energy security concerns, Tieleman suggested.
He notes that, by BC Hydro’s own reckoning, electricity accounts for only 19 per cent of total energy use in B.C., which includes transportation fuels.
“That leaves 81 per cent that’s not electricity,” Tieleman said. “That’s a lot.”
He points to last year, when BC Hydro had to import electricity, due to drought, as a sign that B.C. may be flirting with energy security issues, if it accelerates the phase-out of natural gas for electrical heating.
“This is not the time to say we’re going to 100 per cent electrification and we’re going to do it right now, or in six months,” Tieleman said.
Certain business sectors, like restaurateurs, really do not like the idea of being forced to cook with electric stoves and ovens.
“Natural gas and eventually renewable natural gas is a critical and affordable cornerstone of our 18 billion dollar restaurant industry,” said Ian Tostenson, CEO of the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association.
“It fuels the diversity and ethnicity of kitchens throughout BC. The conversion of our industry to electricity would render us practically inoperable and financial devasted.”
Meanwhile, other businesses are simply worried about increased energy bills.
“Access to reliable and affordable energy is essential for small businesses to thrive and drive much-needed economic growth in the province,” said Jairo Yunis, CFIB’s director for B.C. and western economic policy.
“If these restrictions move forward, both residents and businesses will be forced to absorb higher energy costs, diminishing the province's competitiveness."
