Capitol Comments

Assemblyman Alex Sauickie

It wasn’t long ago that I wrote in these pages about a suggestion that the federal government would ban gas stoves. That suggestion was followed by public backlash, and then a statement by the Biden administration that it would not pursue such a ban.

Faithful readers of this column will recall that I also discussed Gov. Murphy’s Energy Master Plan, which many say will phase out the use of natural gas in New Jersey. It sure looks that way, although there is some wiggle room in the fine print.

Forced electrification of homes and businesses will make energy more expensive, require tens of thousands of dollars in conversion costs for each home and building, and strain our electrical grid far beyond what it can handle. Remember during the very cold weather around last Christmas the notice from power companies asking residents to conserve power due to the strain on the system from electric home heating? Without a substantial and expensive upgrade to the grid, we’ll have more power outages and brownouts than California does.

Because of the Biden administration’s statement and the extreme consequences of a hasty, ill-planned conversion to all-electric power, one might conclude that it just won’t happen in New Jersey. In fact, as I write this, the Philadelphia Inquirer has issued a report on Gov. Murphy’s latest energy proposals that quotes him as saying, “No one is coming for anyone’s gas stove. No one is walking into anyone’s kitchen. No one is going to be forced to do anything, in any way.”