Don’t ban natural gas from Colorado homes

Ted Leighty is CEO of the Colorado Association of Home Builders, and Home Builders Association of Metro Denver

Coloradans need a smart, balanced and cost-effective approach toward reducing the state’s carbon footprint. That includes giving high priority to consumers’ interests in any strategy moving forward. It also means avoiding untested, risky and costly policies while Colorado’s energy use evolves.

One risky and costly initiative now under consideration by our state’s policy makers would in fact backfire in a big way. It’s the headlong rush to mandate the total electrification of Colorado homes.

It amounts to a de facto ban on residential natural gas — the backbone of home heating across our state and nation. That not only would make it difficult and much more expensive to heat our homes, but it also would micromanage basic household amenities like how we cook dinner and even heat our water to take a shower.

The consequence would be to drive up the cost of buying or renting a place to live in our state — amid what is already a historic shortage of affordable housing.  Read More on ColoradoPolitics.com