Southland Black Chamber Urges Chicago to Say “No” to Natural Gas Ban
Southland Black Chamber Urges Chicago to Say “No” to Natural Gas Ban (Chicago, IL) —The Southland Black Chamber of Commerce issued a policy statement on Chicago’s proposed natural gas ban. The ban would include all new construction. Their policy statement is as follows:
The Chicago City Council recently proposed an ordinance referred to as the Clean and Affordable Buildings Ordinance (CABO). They are looking to outlaw natural gas in all new construction for commercial and residential properties with few exceptions. The idea is that the proponents believe that electric heat is and will be more affordable, cleaner for the environment, and more reliable. The position of the Southland Black Chamber of Commerce and Industry is that all three of those aforementioned stances are false and/or misleading.
Studies have shown that electricity is much more expensive than natural gas. Most estimates show that annual rates for natural gas for residents at $665 a year while electric will make costs rise to $1260 a year. This is around double the cost for residents to move toward electricity. The group hurt by this the most will be seniors on fixed incomes.
Protecting the environment is a priority for the business community and the Southland Black Chamber of Commerce. The proponents of CABO claim that electricity is cleaner than natural gas. However, according to the EPA, the emissions from electricity are dirtier than natural gas. Electricity produces emissions of 306.59 lbs CO2 per MMBtu vs. 116.65 lbs per MMBtu for natural gas. Electricity emissions are nearly three times dirtier than that of natural gas.
https://www.epa.gov/egrid/power-profiler#/
CABO will restrict CO2 emissions from combustion devices to no more than 25 kg per MMBtu. At that restriction level, natural gas would fail. However, electricity would fail as well, leaving us with no viable option.
The recent cold spell that we experienced in January can be expected to come annually here in the Chicago area. We saw the trouble that electric infrastructure experienced under extreme temperatures. Black outs are common and could be more common with harsh weather. The reliability of a heating apparatus could be life or death for Chicago residents. The Southland Black Chamber of Commerce is opposed to the CABO Ordinance.
Southland Black Chamber Urges Chicago to Say “No” to Natural Gas Ban
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