The Wall Street Journal editorial board slammed the city of Berkeley's attempt to raise the cost of installing gas stoves in commercial and residential buildings.
“Democrats say they're not after gas stoves, but look at how the People's Republic of Berkeley is trying to make them obsolete,” the Wall Street Journal wrote. The editorial was published on Thursday.
The Biden-Harris administration faced criticism from consumers and businesses after announcing energy efficiency regulations. Targeting gas stoves The government unveiled the proposal as part of a wider climate change initiative after it subsequently backtracked on a more aggressive proposal announced for 2023.
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In a Thursday article, The Wall Street Journal's editorial board slammed the city of Berkeley for trying to raise the cost of installing gas stoves. (Getty Images)
“It is the public's intent to curb outdated natural gas infrastructure and its associated greenhouse gas emissions in existing commercial and large residential buildings and to reduce the environmental and health hazards associated with the consumption and transportation of natural gas,” a city of Berkeley initiative supporting the measure wrote in the Journal.
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“The people in power want to do this by imposing an excise tax on commercial and multi-family properties starting at $2.96 per therm consumed,” The Wall Street Journal wrote. “That's nearly double the average U.S. residential retail price of natural gas. For a typical home's gas consumption, that works out to about $180 a month.”
Biden Administration Rolls Back Gas Stove Crackdown After Widespread Backlash
The Biden-Harris administration drew criticism from consumers and businesses when it announced energy-saving rules targeting gas stoves as part of a broader climate plan, then backed off a more aggressive proposal announced for 2023. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Martin)
The Journal's editorial board explained that the purpose of the policy was to “force building owners to replace gas with electric appliances, even if it is costly and often impractical.”
“A majority of Berkeley voters is needed to approve a gas tax, and in a city where only 4 percent are Republican, approval may be easy to gain,” the editorial continued.
“If the gas tax passes, Berkeley voters will suffer the consequences of their own doing, but California's crazy enforcement has a tendency to reverberate across the country and into Congress,” the Wall Street Journal wrote.
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The city of Berkeley did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
