1.0Citizens Utility Boardhttps://www.citizensutilityboard.orgrich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="Ow3R7e6ic4"><a href="https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/blog/2024/11/12/illinois-future-of-gas-electrification-meeting-pt-i-november-4-2024/">Illinois Future of Gas: Electrification Meeting Pt. I – November 4, 2024</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/blog/2024/11/12/illinois-future-of-gas-electrification-meeting-pt-i-november-4-2024/embed/#?secret=Ow3R7e6ic4" width="600" height="338" title="“Illinois Future of Gas: Electrification Meeting Pt. I – November 4, 2024” — Citizens Utility Board" data-secret="Ow3R7e6ic4" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); /* ]]> */ </script> By: Scott Allen, Energy Policy Specialist  Today’s Future of Gas workshop began with an announcement: between now and Dec. 6, 2024, the ICC will be accepting decarbonization pilot project ideas from interested stakeholders. It wasn’t immediately clear how these pilots could be put into effect–or indeed if they ever would be–  but ICC staff suggested that it could materialize as part of the gas utilities’ long-term infrastructure plans that are due by the summer of 2025.  If you’re interested in learning more about the pilot development process or submitting a project idea, visit the ICC’s updated website. The remainder of the workshop focused on electrification as a decarbonization pathway. Iain Walker, from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, spoke about residential electrification and Nik Sawe, from Energy Innovation, covered industrial electrification. Both presentations were thorough, and I would encourage people to watch them. The Lawrence Berkeley slides covered concerns that CUB often hears from homeowners. Residential Electrification In my time at CUB,  I’ve seen a lot of visual aids meant to help everyday consumers understand a pathway to a decarbonized, electrified home. Many of the visuals look nice, but often they say either way too much, or not enough. Iain Walker’s visual comes pretty close to being just right, including steps for everybody involved in the home electrification process, from residents to contractors to policymakers. Most of these concepts are as straightforward as they seem. However, I’d like to draw attention to a couple that might require an adjustment in how we choose and use our appliances.   The second step of the outline above–”Low power electrification…”–is where Walker asked us to think about power vs. energy.  What’s the difference?  Power refers to the amount of energy an appliance requires to run, while energy refers to the amount of electricity an appliance uses over time. (We pay for energy on our monthly electric bills.)   Now consider power requirements for gas vs. electric appliances. As the graph below shows, electric appliances are less power intensive compared to gas appliances. That is especially true for water- and space-heating appliances.  Now think about this: Even though an electric range/oven requires a significant amount of power, it is used for shorter periods of time. On the other hand, space heating/cooling appliances are used for much longer periods of time–but electric versions are far less power intensive. And power intensity is further reduced for heat pump technology (air warming/cooling, water heaters and clothes dryers). These concepts lead to the points Iain made in step 6: “Use integrated appliances,,,:  One of the major problems many people encounter is inadequate electric service. Roughly half of the houses in the U.S. have 200 amp service, which is likely enough amperage to accommodate an electrified home plus EV charging. But older homes and/or homes that are also served by gas, may only have 100 amp service, making full electrification difficult. So what can we do about that?   Increasing amperage can range from moderately expensive to really expensive (as in, this-job-is-worth-more-than-my-house expensive). It may even require a prohibitively expensive upgrade to the ComEd/Ameren-side of your electric service.  Iain offered some alternatives, appliance integration […]https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Illinois-Future-of-Gas-Banner-800x221.png