All- Electric Building Ordinance

Beginning April 1, 2022

Applications for buildings permits for new construction of any Residential, Retail, Office or Hotel building(s) must be designed to be all-electric (no natural gas allowed).   

June 1, 2022

Building permits issued on or after June 1, 2022, for new construction of all Residential, Retail, Office, and Hotel building(s) are required to be All-Electric (no natural gas allowed).  

Electric Vehicle in garage with family

All-Electric Ordinance Requirements for New Construction

On January 18, 2022, the County Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance 2022-02, an All-Electric (New Construction) Ordinance, to amend the 2019 California Energy Code to require the following building types to be all-electric:   

  • Residential (including single-family and multi-family buildings)
  • Detached Accessory Dwelling Units
  • Hotel
  • Office
  • Retail 

What is an All-Electric Building

An all-electric building is defined to mean a building that has no natural gas or propane plumbing installed within the building, and that uses electricity as the sole source of energy for its space heating (including heating of all indoor and outdoor spaces of the building), water heating (including heating of indoor and outdoor pools and spas), cooking appliances, and clothes drying appliances. An all-electric building may utilize solar thermal pool heating.

Existing Buildings Not Subject to All-Electric Requirement

The ordinance does not pertain to any additions, alterations or tenant improvements to any existing buildings, including any attached accessory dwelling units.  Additionally, it does not preclude anyone from installing natural gas for any existing buildings, including other allowed ancillary uses to existing buildings, such as pools, spas, or other similar outdoor equipment.

Backup Power

The ordinance does not prohibit the use of emergency backup power sources, such as generators, that may be fossil-fuel operated. 

  1. Documents and Resources
  2. General FAQ
  3. FAQ for Building Developers
  4. History
  5. Contact Us