California restaurant group is hot over Berkeley's natural gas ban. It's suing the city

[TexasTowelie]

It’s a classic California story and restaurants in one East Bay city are caught in the middle.

Berkeley’s first-in-the-nation ban on natural gas in new construction to reduce the city’s carbon emissions goes into effect in January, placing it at the vanguard of a small but growing movement by cities and counties pushing toward an all-electric future. It goes in line with the state’s ambitious goal of obtaining all of its electricity from clean energy sources by 2045, under legislation signed by former Gov. Jerry Brown last year, to fight against global warming.

But a Sacramento-based restaurant trade group is challenging the ban in San Francisco federal court in a California case of global issues colliding with businesses’ bottom line.

Enter the California Restaurant Association. The group charges the natural gas ban will hit Berkeley restaurateurs and consumers in the kitchen and at the cash register in what the trade group has branded a “one-sided” effort to combat the effects of carbon emissions on the environment.

Read more: https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article238056114.html

[Cicada]

1. They can convert to induction burners to keep the benefits of gas

Gas cooking is superior to standard electricity because it applies heat instantly. But induction burners, using electrically generated magnetic fields, is also instantaneous. I get why restaurants worry about losing the benefits of gas. But they have a Rarely used but effective alternative solution. Chefs may need some training in new equipment but that is an acceptable cost.

[Merlot]

2. The ban is on new construction, so no need for them to convert gas burners