Biden Administration Allocates $530 Million for Energy Code Upgrades

Experts Warn of Potential Backdoor Ban on Natural Gas in New Buildings

The Biden administration has announced $530 million in federal funding to upgrade energy codes nationwide to conform with strict energy efficiency standards, a move experts say is tantamount to a backdoor natural gas ban.
The Department of Energy (DOE) will begin accepting applications for competitive grants for local residential and commercial building code upgrades as part of its implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
The IRA earmarks $1 billion to the DOE for awarding grants to local jurisdictions to adopt the most recent energy codes, the 2021 International Energy Conservation Codes (IECC) developed by the International Code Council.
Experts warn that the federal push to incentivize more efficient energy codes nationwide could lead to policies banning new buildings from having natural gas hookups and require them to be 'all-electric.'
In addition to the Biden administration's efforts to push new, more energy-efficient building codes nationwide, it has also issued a wide range of new regulations targeting gas-powered home appliances.