The City’s Environment and Climate Committee recently held its first meeting to discuss policies and best practices related to building electrification. As background, a defined goal of City Council and the Climate Protection Plan (CPP) is a reduction of carbon emissions; and there is interest in pursuing City policies to incentivize and/or regulate use of electric power in lieu of natural gas. City staff laid out a two-step process by which the committee is engaging a consultant to develop a list of policy options for further refinement and analysis.  

Policies discussed were broad and covered new construction and existing buildings; residential and commercial buildings; incentives for electrification such as expedited permitting and financial incentives and other options to move away from the use of natural gas. Cross walking the policies with the current legal framework and recent court decisions was also discussed as there was little interest in pursuing policies under legal review. Impact on the power grid and availability of electric power will be a key issue as policies are identified and vetted.  

The stakeholder process will be robust with opportunities for members of the public, business owners and other interested parties to weigh in on policy options under consideration. A draft report will be presented at the ECC’s October 10 committee meeting and formal stakeholder interviews will take place during the month of October. The Bend Chamber will be actively engaged in the stakeholder process and welcomes comments and feedback from members.  

City Council also reviewed a draft resolution regarding electrification of all City-owned buildings and properties and gave the initial green light to move forward. Elements of the resolution may foreshadow policies under consideration for private buildings.  

• • The City Manager and City staff are directed to exclude the use of fossil fuels in the operation of all newly constructed or substantially altered City-owned buildings; 
  • All newly constructed buildings must meet the requirements of the state “1.5% for Green Energy Technology” program so long as it is in existence;
  • All newly constructed buildings must be ready for the installation of additional solar panels, EV chargers, or other green energy technologies where applicable;
  • City Staff are further directed to evaluate opportunities to retrofit existing buildings (whether owned or leased under the city’s control) at the time that replacement opportunities occur, to eliminate fossil-fuel based equipment. 

For more information about the electrification project, please visit the City’s website: https://www.bendoregon.gov/services/projects-initiatives/community-priorities/sustainability/energy/community-climate-action-plan/electrification-policy-options