B6- Establish a building electrification program (for existing buildings) to replace appliances and systems with electric options.

Gas hook-ups should be banned in all NEW commercial and residential construction.

How will the city manage the Proper Waste Management/ReUse/ReCovery/ReCycle of these Gas equipment? Cradle to Cradle

The changeover from natural gas needs to be accelerated. Instead of just encouraging a switch from natural gas, all NEW natural gas hookups should be banned, and existing hookups should be transitioned to electric by 2030. We don't need to have more people killed by exploding natural gas connections, nor do we need to have all of the extra CO2 emissions over the years, not to mention the leaky natural gas hookups that you can smell all over the city.

Agreed, Dallas needs to push for electric appliances and systems instead of natural gas wherever possible. Dallas should also lobby the legislature to push for these better systems, boilers, hot water heaters, etc. be included in the tax free Memorial Day weekend holiday on top of the energy efficient appliances which are already tax free on this holiday. Perhaps electric lawn equipment including leaf blowers, chain saws, etc. can also be lobbied to be added to this list.

With proper respect to Oncor, they sell electricity and Dallas needs much better A/C than the current standards - these are not perfectly aligned goals. Success for them will be selling a lot of cheap systems and we need efficient systems. People invest in A/C every 12-25 years, we don't need to waste this conversion opportunity selling inefficient, cheap air source heat pumps that we'll be stuck with..... A/C tech is changing very rapidly at this time with new membrane A/C (compressor-less tech), much smaller, AI operated, geothermal ground loops, variable speed fans and pumps, better dehumidifiers and ventilation with real artificial intelligence all coming rapidly to market. Passive heating and cooling is much more efficient than air-source. If we are going to encourage a change over from gas, at the time of that investment the home owner should first be taught/encouraged to properly insulate and seal the home. Passive solutions have a higher return on investment. Then the A/C must be properly sized for the application, unlike the usual rule of thumb over-sizing (just to make sure). Fresh air must be part of the system. Installers and consumers need to educated and supported to do it right. A significant percentage of systems are never installed and set up correctly (70% of Nest's are improperly installed by homeowners). PTAC systems (thru the wall electric heating/cooling units common in motels) should also be banned - they are cheap up front, but energy hogs. Variable refrigerant flow is complex to install and maintain and does not always meet manufacturers efficiency claims - these should be controlled and carefully commissioned. They should not be used in high air flow applications. Of course, ductless gas mini-splits should be banned. This needs done, but done right. Just switching to electricity is not a good goal and cheap air source heat pumps isn't a panacea. It should be a major program with proper study and best practices. While Oncor brings welcome help and is a valued partner, the Dallas society goals are not the same as their profit goal.

What would be the target date for this?

Three issues: First, right now fix the insulation and structural integrity of homes and buildings, install LEDs and maintain existing equipment properly - that's the biggest bang for the buck. Second, determine the economics of replacement (don't allow PTAKs because they are cheap, but their Total Cost of Ownership over time is much higher). Third, not all equipment should be/is affordable to be replaced right now. We should get research done by our local universities on the available solutions and their economics to educate our tech people on the emerging solutions and their economics. The enemy of better solutions is market ignorance and inertia.

For upgrading existing gas-fired furnaces and hot water heaters, provide upfront financing for those who can't afford heat pump alternatives along with weatherization and insulation improvements. Recover financing costs with partial repayments from home owners from the energy savings from these improvements. Related to B-5.

Dallas needs to do a cost-benefit analysis of the cost of fixing aging infrastructure of atmos's lines and the public health risks of using natural gas vs full building electrification at an accelerated timeline. Other cities are immediately banning natural gas hookups in all new construction. This is feasible to do immediately. Dallas should move to decommission it's natural gas lines as soon as possibles and should quickly electrify all existing buildings, with a solution for equity (incentives and financing for those who can't afford it). Also, create a sustainable building code that requires new construction materials and

methods to minimize GHG emissions.

Dallas has made it clear it wants to be a local, regional, statewide, and global leader on environment and sustainability issues. This is reflected in public comments made by city staff, city councilmembers, and the Mayor. In fact, in the Mayor’s memo creating the environment and Sustainability Committee he states that he created the committee to ensure that “the City of Dallas is a global leader in addressing climate change.” Furthermore, Dallas has committed to meeting the Paris Climate Goals, which means achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

Any serious plan to reach net zero emissions means eliminating fossil fuel use, including natural gas, by that time.

Key human benefits of eliminating natural gas use:

· Reduced indoor air pollution in a city where asthma is the leading cause of school absenteeism. Ridding ourselves of natural gas is an investment in people, education, and the workforce.

· Reduced risk of explosions. In 2018, three homes in Northwest Dallas exploded due to old Natural Gas lines. No Dallas resident should live in fear of finding their home destroyed and their family members killed. https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/12-year-old-victim-of-deadly-house-explosion-identified/256856/

Key Financial benefits:

· Protect Dallas residents from Atmos Energy, a monopoly, which has a demonstrated track record of paying increasing dividends to its shareholders while raising costs on ratepayers. Atmos is seeking a 9.4% increase on Dallas ratepayers just this year, with tens of millions of dollars of pipeline replacements to come. It’s better to invest in electrification of the city than shoulder Dallas residents with the costs of replacing a pipeline system that delivers fuels that we must stop using to prevent climate change.

Key climate and environment benefits:

· As a fossil fuel, natural gas adds to carbon emissions when burned. However, Natural Gas is especially bad for the climate because methane leaks from pipes are almost 3% of the city’s community-wide (total) carbon emissions (2015 City of Dallas GHG Inventory). Note: This only includes the estimated leaks within the city limits of Dallas.

· Furthermore, when wells are fracked for oil and gas, excess gas is “flared” and “vented” meaning burnt or (worse) simply released into the air without being used. The amount of gas that is wasted through flaring and venting in the US exceeds that of the national demand in some countries (like Hungary, Israel, and Colombia) https://www.rystadenergy.com/newsevents/news/press-releases/Permian-natural-gas-flaring-and-venting-reaching-all-time-high/

· Finally, fracking natural gas produces billions of gallons of toxic wastewater and chemicals that are often injected back into the ground. This can pollute groundwater sources for years to come.

Cities across the US are beginning to do this!

· Many cities are eliminating hookups in new construction. Dallas has an opportunity to be a leader regionally or statewide by taking decisive action. Let’s make cities like San Antonio and Houston look to Dallas as a leader. https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/5-charts-that-show-why-states-need-to-eliminate-fossil-fuels-from-buildings.

Below are concrete, actionable, and independent steps the city can take toward this goal.

1. Do not allow Natural Gas in NEW buildings and pass an ordinance to that effect by the end of 2020. Knowing that we have to eliminate natural gas use sooner than 2050, it does not make sense to continue to invest in infrastructure and appliances that Dallas will eventually need to remove. It is far cheaper and easier to do this in new construction projects. Much of the new housing being built in Dallas is all-electric.

2. Atmos is well behind on its pipeline upgrades, which cost tens of millions of dollars. These costs are then passed on to consumers in the form of rate hikes. Right now, Atmos is asking for a 9.4% rate hike from Dallas consumers. Even if Dallas denies this rate hike, Atmos will override this decision by going to the Texas Railroad Commission (because they are a state-regulated monopoly utility). Upgrading pipelines is expensive for Dallas residents and a huge infrastructure investment for Atmos. While Atmos is considering upgrading pipelines, the city should complete a cost-benefit analysis of decommissioning the lines. Instead of spending millions of dollars on new pipelines which will have to be decommissioned, it’s almost certainly more cost effective to electrify the areas where the pipes would be laid instead. This analysis should also factor in and quantify the additional benefits of electrification, like improvements for indoor air quality which reduce health expenses, increased school attendance (which also increases DISD funding), and improved learning outcomes. Furthermore, the analysis should factor in the climate benefits of reducing natural gas use, flaring/venting, and pipeline leaks.

3. Develop a building electrification program as is suggested above, but start immediately with the biggest consumers of natural gas coming first as is suggested. Complete electrification work by 2030. In 2025, provide Atmos with written notice to change the city’s natural gas contract prior to its automatic 15-year renewal, and renew only until 2030. In 2030, let the contract with Atmos energy expire.

The entire city of Dallas should be all-electric by 2030. No more gas distribution infrastructure. It’s too dangerous, too expensive, and the city should do the analysis to prove it!

Natural has is dangerous, dirty and dated. The city needs to ban natural gas in all new construction starting immediately, and work to retrofit buildings to electric by 2030.