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South Coast Air Quality Board Rejects Gas Appliance Phase-Out Plan

The board declined to impose sliding-scale fees on gas heaters and furnaces intended to accelerate electric alternatives to cut smog-forming pollutants.

FILE - A person with a dog walks along a trail as a layer of smog blankets downtown Los Angeles, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
FILE - Smog lingers over the city overlooking the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles as seen from Signal Hill, Calif., on Monday, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent, File)

Overview

  • On a 7-5 vote on June 6, 2025, board members turned down rules to phase out sales of gas furnaces and water heaters beginning in 2027.
  • Under the proposal, manufacturers would have paid fees of $100 to $500 per gas furnace and $50 to $250 per gas water heater based on zero-emission sales targets rising to 90% by 2036.
  • District estimates showed the rules could avert about 2,490 premature deaths and 10,200 new asthma cases over 26 years by lowering nitrogen oxide emissions.
  • Opponents, including property owners and natural gas companies, said the measures would increase consumer costs and strain the power grid, while supporters warned of lasting public health harms.
  • The vote followed more than 14,000 public comments largely opposing the proposal and a legal warning from the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles against penalties on gas appliances.