City Electrification Resolution Advances

In a unanimous vote, the Board of Alders City Services and Environmental Policy Committee Tuesday night advanced a proposal to have city government convert all its buildings and vehicles to electric power.

The resolution, ​“Committing The City Of New Haven To A Leadership Role In Electrifying Its Buildings And Vehicle Fleet,” urges the city to encourage electrification, both indoors — by updating heating and hot water systems — and outdoors — by purchasing electric vehicles, ranging from school buses to heavy duty trucks.

The resolution now advances to the full Board of Alders for a final vote.

If passed, the resolution directs the city’s chief administrative officer to ​“report back in six months … with an analysis of how much of the City’s vehicle fleet can be feasibly replaced with vehicles over the next two capital planning cycles, including an estimate of the lifetime costs savings for electrifying light duty and refuse vehicles.” The city engineer would be directed to ​“develop a schedule for the replacement of all existing heating systems, shall evaluate fully electrifying all new construction and all existing heating systems, and shall report back annually to this committee the results of these evaluations.” (The resolution’s full text appears at the end of this story.)

Prospect Hill/Newhallville Alder Steve Winter proposed the resolution. He remarked that, while electrification is an issue of environmental justice, it is also one with both racial and health implications.

​“Those who are impacted by poor quality and issues of respiratory health, as well as those who are most harmed by climate-induced disasters tend to be the most vulnerable,” Winter said when introducing the resolution. ​“Black and brown residents are disproportionately impacted by air issues.” Moving toward green power from fossil fuels also creates jobs, he he noted.

City Engineer Giovanni Zinn told the committee that government is already working to implement various electrification projects, such as replacing HVAC units in firehouses and public works buildings with more efficient heat pump systems. They’ve also been installing electric car chargers in city facilities.

“It can be expensive to retrofit .. .but it is something over the next decade that we will try to tackle,” Zinn said. ​“I look forward to being a part of this process, and the few projects [in the works] show the feasibility of this approach.”

Garrett Eucalitto, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Transportation, said the local resolution dovetails with the state’s Transportation and Climate Initiative Program, which aims for ​“at least a 26 percent reduction in carbon emissions from transportation from 2022 to 2032” through emission caps and electrification of vehicles, among other goals.

The program projects that by 2030, 50 percent of light duty cars and trucks and 30 percent of buses purchased will be electric . Eucalitto called the bus goal extremely doable and added that he believes 100 percent of buses purchased that year could be electric.

“Communities need to have a say in how these investments are made,” Eucalitto added.

The public testimony section of the hearing was overwhelmingly attended by members of the New Haven Climate Movement, a coalition that has already been working with the city to go green.

Every speaker supported the resolution.

For Chris Schweitzer, the climate crisis is the singular most important issue of our time, threatening to destroy ​“pretty much everything we about on earth.” The resolution’s goals should have been implemented decades earlier, he argued.

“But we are where we are in 2021,” Schweitzer added, hoping that the city electrification can inspire the public, New Haven universities, and businesses to follow suit.

Anya Mobarak, another member of the Climate Movement, read out the group’s ​“Electric Future Manifesto,” which hails the benefits of electricity, including its efficiency, safety, health and economic benefits, and arc towards ​“a carbon free future.”

Adrian Huq told alders that the actions they take today would affect generations to come.

“The youth need the adults to step up,” Huq said, emphasizing that the current ​“climate emergency” makes the resolution imperative.

The alders were in agreement with all of the members of the public who testified in favor of the resolution.

Vice Chair Alder Sal DeCola of Morris Cove said that, while there are ​“many hurdles,” the resolution was ​“pointed in the right direction.”

“We can’t not act on this,” Downtown Alder Abigail Roth added.

Whereas & Therefore

Following is the full text of the New Haven Community Electrification Resolution:

Whereas in 2019 New Haven declared that we face an existential climate emergency that threatens our city, region, state, nation, human civilization, and the natural world; and

Whereas the New Haven Board of Alders officially committed to leading an emergency mobilization effort that would work to end community-wide greenhouse gas emissions by or before December 31, 2030, and immediately initiate an effort to safely draw down carbon from the atmosphere; and

Whereas New Haven must take additional measures to decarbonize, transitioning from fossil fuel-powered buildings and transportation vehicles to electric-powered ones; and

Whereas the COVID 19 crisis has highlighted the vulnerability of front-line communities to social, political, and environmental systems that harm respiratory health; and

Whereas New Haven is ranked 11th of 100 US metropolitan cities that are most challenging to live with asthma by Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America in large part because of the burning of fossil fuels; and

Whereas electrification will improve air quality as all-electric buildings will improve indoor air quality and overall health, by eliminating natural gas combustion inside homes that produces harmful indoor air pollution; and

Whereas all-electric transportation vehicles improve outdoor air quality, particularly for residents in urban neighborhoods and for those living near major roads; and

Whereas life expectancy in New Haven is lower than surrounding towns, due in part to poor air quality, which causes respiratory diseases, heart disease and cancer; and

Whereas electrification is widely recognized as a powerful strategy to both combat climate change and address poor air quality in the front-line communities most harmed by climate change; and

Whereas, as a coastal city, New Haven is particularly vulnerable to the devastating consequences of climate change, including more intense storms, flooding and sea-level rise; and

Whereas electrification will reduce noise pollution as electric vehicles produce far less noise than gas-powered vehicles, and noise pollution has been shown to have detrimental effects on human health; and

Whereas United Illuminating is the largest personal property taxpayer in the City and increasing electrification will lead to grid improvements that will increase the grand list; and

Whereas every new building relying on fossil fuel for its heating and cooling will have a negative impact on the climate for decades to come and require additional investments to be retrofitted to electric systems as the climate emergency worsens; and

Whereas 50% of electricity in Connecticut comes from nuclear power and other clean sources and the State has committed to 100% clean electric grid by 2040, electrification will increasingly reduce the carbon footprint of the City of New Haven; and

Whereas electrified buildings provide safer living conditions in that it leads to lower risk of building fires or carbon monoxide leaks; and

Whereas electrification will potentially reduce construction and maintenance costs as all-electric new buildings do not require the installation of gas infrastructure, saves space within buildings, and reduces upkeep costs; and

Whereas electrification will increase social equity as all-electric new construction can reduce housing costs as disadvantaged populations spend a disproportionate amount of their income on energy and are more likely to suffer from asthma due to poor air quality; and

Whereas with technology improvement, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s estimates that energy consumption will be lowered by 13 – 21%; and

Whereas, unlike fossil fuel whose price is highly connected to uncontrollable natural resources and political issues, electricity has a variety of production which guarantees its steady price; and

Whereas an electric future means New Haven and Connecticut can move towards building a local clean energy industry that will supply all our energy needs, redirecting the $5 billion Connecticut spends on fossil fuels each year into to local businesses; and

Whereas we learned from the lesson of COVID-19 that we should prepare ourselves from potential crises and risks before damage has already begun; and

Whereas more and more cities have started their implementation of new policies and ordinances for cleaner cities, New Haven, as a city with history of making great innovative policies, should take actions as well; and

Whereas it is clear that the energy system of the future is 100% electric and that the vast transition to electric systems will greatly increase energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve public health and increase the quality of life throughout the city.

Now Therefore Be It Resolved, that the City of New Haven recognizes the broad benefits of accelerating the transition to electric buildings and transportation throughout the City; and

Be It Further Resolved that the City of New Haven commits to electrifying its own building and transportation systems by December 31, 2030, recognizing the leading role of government in educating and mobilizing the broader community to move towards electrification; and

Be It Further Resolved that the Chief Administrative Officer reports back in six months from the signing of this document with an analysis of how much of the City’s vehicle fleet can be feasibly replaced with vehicles over the next two capital planning cycles, including an estimate of the lifetime costs savings for electrifying light duty and refuse vehicles; and

Be It Further Resolved that the City Engineer shall develop a schedule for the replacement of all existing heating systems, shall evaluate fully electrifying all new construction and all existing heating systems, and shall report back annually to this committee the results of these evaluations; and

Be It Further Resolved that the Mayor shall work with the Board of Education to develop plans to electrify school transportation as soon as practically possible; and

Be It Further Resolved that the City Plan Department or any other relevant department will update policy, including zoning, that will incentivize all new construction to shift towards electric only heating and cooling to the greatest degree possible and will require developers to calculate carbon emissions during the plan review process; and

Be It Further Resolved that LCI and the Building Department will work with UI, the Green Bank and other appropriate partners to educate present building owners of various building electrification incentives and resources; and

Be It Further Resolved that the Alders encourage the City’s state delegation to prioritize passing policies that require statewide electrification or enabling legislation for municipalities to enact stretch codes; and

Be It Further Resolved that the Economic Development Department report back to the Board of Alders in six months with a plan how to use the coming electrification, energy efficiency and clean energy transition to create local jobs and grow locally owned businesses, giving special priority to historically marginalized communities.