Response to the ‘Bay Area to Ban Natural Gas Hot Water Heaters’ Article

I'm writing in response to the "Bay Area to Ban Natural Gas Hot Water Heaters" guest commentary. While I agree that replacing gas water heaters with electric may require costly electrical upgrades, there is no mention of the myriad incentive programs in place to offset the cost of these upgrades and the cost of new equipment. Pointing out the "irony" that a significant amount of California's electricity comes from natural gas plants leaves out the fact that that amount is decreasing every day, that there is a surplus of electricity during the day when solar is producing the most, and changing water heaters from gas to electric will have no noticeable impact to the grid as it's so tiny. If you want to get up in arms about regulations, point the finger at PG&E and the CPUC for poor management, predatory pricing, and disinformation.
And can we talk about the upsides as well as the downsides to banning new gas furnaces and hot water heaters? I for one would rather not have any of the CO or CO2 in and around my house.

–Benjaman Bachelder, Castro Valley