To the editor: Reading this article could make one believe that prohibiting gas appliances, such as water heater and space heater, and replacing them with appliances would eliminate 100% of NOX emissions from gas appliances (“Regulators seek to eliminate gas appliances in southern California”, “ June 4). This is not true, because natural gas is used to generate electricity in California; In 2023, it constituted 43.68% of our generating energy, according to the California Energy Commission.
I believe that this initiative of the Air Quality Management District to eliminate gas appliances must be postponed until the moment when 0% of California's energy is generated with fossil fuels. And since the cost of converting from gas to electricity is substantial taking into account the costs of new appliances, facilities and updates of domestic electrical panels, the state and the AQMD should reimburse all these conversion costs to homes. If the State considers that this AQMD initiative is crucial, then it should pay its implementation.
Greg Zebrowski, Manhattan Beach
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To the editor: There are two problems with the adoption of electric water heaters. One is to modernize the supply, probably not a problem with the new construction, but a serious consideration when replacing gas with electricity. The other is paying for that electricity. Our public services have made electricity so expensive that, even with solar panels that mitigate part of the cost, appliances that use significant energy are a luxury to be used only when necessary. AQMD must focus on these practical problems instead of the chimera of the objectives. Any fool can demand a percentage figure and, therefore, seems to be doing something, but delicacy is needed to find practical solutions that do not believe new problems.
Martin Usher, Thousand Oaks
