Cupertino is fighting to reduce greenhouse gases. You can help!

The City of Cupertino is considering a policy to transition home appliances and equipment that use natural gas to those that use electricity. This transition is essential for fighting climate change.

To help inform and guide this draft policy, we invite you to share your knowledge, experience, and opinions on home electrification. This refers to using electric appliances and equipment, such as electric panel upgrades, induction cooktops, heat pump water heaters, and heat pump air conditioning and heating systems.

What could this policy look like?

The City is carefully considering options for what is best for our community and is limited on what we can do legally. Here are a few concepts:

• Option 1: (most ambitious) Require homes to meet a whole-house energy efficiency standard (Flex Path and Time of Replacement requirements).
• Option 2: (somewhat ambitious) Require either a time of renovation or a time of replacement policy.
• Option 3: (least ambitious) Require an “electric-readiness” home (panel upgrade and wiring) and allow for the switch from gas to electric to happen as appliances need replacing.
• Option 4: (not ambitious) Support the policies and programs created by state and regional districts and consider local policy at a later date.

Each of these options comes with some concerns and challenges to overcome. We need your help planning the best path for Cupertino.