Buildings · Analysis

Santa Monica went all-electric first. Two years on, what changed?

Santa Monica pushed new buildings all-electric before any other LA-area city. Here is what the rule did to costs, who asked to be let out, and who copied it, with the numbers hedged where the public record is thin.

BY THE RENEWABLE ENERGY LA EDITORS · FILED SEPTEMBER 26, 2026 · 6 MIN READ ·

How the reach code actually works

A reach code is a local amendment to Title 24 (the state's building energy code, which the California Energy Commission updates every three years) that goes further than the statewide minimum. California lets a city adopt one only after a study shows the stricter rule pays for itself over time, and only after the Energy Commission signs off. Santa Monica's version does not flatly forbid a gas stove; it sets an energy target that an all-electric design meets easily and a mixed-fuel design struggles to hit.

In practice that means new homes get heat pumps (electric units that move heat instead of burning fuel, for both space heating and hot water), induction or electric cooktops, and a larger electrical panel. The gas line to the street, and the gas meter, usually just do not get installed. For a builder, that is the mechanics of it: fewer trades on the gas side, more load on the panel and on the LADWP service drop.

The honest math on cost

Whether all-electric costs more or less depends on the building. For a single new house, the statewide cost studies that back these codes have generally found all-electric construction runs close to break-even or a little cheaper, because you skip the gas piping, the meter, and the venting. Retrofits and larger buildings are where it gets expensive, and Santa Monica's rule applies mainly to new construction, not to the house you already own.

One number to distrust is any single dollar figure. Panel upgrades, service capacity, and appliance prices have all moved since the rule took effect, so estimates from a few years ago may be stale. At last public report, the framing from the state's own reach code program was modest added cost at worst for new low-rise homes, larger and less certain for some commercial building types. Treat that as a range, not a promise.

The waiver queue and the legal cloud

Every code like this has an exemption path, and the queue matters more than the headline. Santa Monica's process lets a project ask for relief where an all-electric design is not feasible, for example where the electrical service cannot be upgraded in time. The city has not, as far as this desk can find, published a running public tally of how many waivers it grants, so anyone quoting a precise number should be asked for their source.

That bigger complication came from up the coast. In 2023 the Ninth Circuit struck down Berkeley's 2019 ordinance, which had banned gas piping in new buildings, ruling it was preempted by the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (the law that sets appliance energy-use standards and blocks many local rules on covered appliances). Santa Monica's approach works through energy targets rather than an outright ban, which many lawyers read as the safer footing, though the ruling still put every California electrification rule under a cloud and nudged cities toward performance targets instead of flat prohibitions.

Who copied it

Imitators came quickly. Dozens of California cities adopted all-electric or electric-preferred reach codes in the same 2019 and 2022 code cycles, and in the LA basin the list grew to include larger neighbors, with the City of Los Angeles moving toward all-electric requirements for most new construction in the same window. The California Statewide Reach Codes program keeps the running adoption list, which is the place to check who is actually in.

Beyond the city level, the trend moved up too. California's air board has adopted a plan to phase out sales of new gas furnaces and water heaters statewide toward the end of this decade, which would make the local reach codes less of an outlier and more of a preview. That statewide timeline is a plan, not a finished rule, and dates like these have slipped before.

Worth watching this month

1. Whether Santa Monica publishes any waiver or exemption data alongside its next building code update, which would replace guesswork with a real count.

2. The California Energy Commission's early work on the next Title 24 cycle (the 2028 energy code), which resets the statewide floor that every local reach code builds on.

3. Any California Air Resources Board rulemaking milestone on the zero-emission space and water heater standard, whose timeline runs toward roughly 2030 and could shift.

4. LADWP service-upgrade wait times on the Westside, since a slow panel or transformer upgrade is the most common real reason an all-electric project stalls.

5. Any new preemption lawsuit that cites the Berkeley ruling against a reach code rather than an outright ban, which would test whether the energy-target approach really is the safer one.

Where this dispatch reads

California Energy Commission, Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Title 24), www.energy.ca.gov/programs-and-topics/programs/building-energy-efficiency-standards, The state agency that writes and must approve every local reach code; explains the three-year code cycle and how local amendments work.
California Air Resources Board, ww2.arb.ca.gov, The air regulator behind the statewide plan to phase out new gas furnaces and water heaters; check here for current rulemaking status and dates.
City of Santa Monica, Building and Safety, www.santamonica.gov, The city permitting authority where the local all-electric requirements and any exemption process are administered.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), www.ladwp.com, The basin's municipal utility; relevant for electric service upgrades, rates, and the electrification programs all-electric homes depend on.
California Statewide Reach Codes Program, localenergycodes.com, Tracks which California cities have adopted reach codes and publishes the cost-effectiveness studies used to justify them.

Questions readers have asked

Does this apply to my existing house?

No. Santa Monica's rule targets new construction and major projects, not the gas stove or furnace in a home you already own. Swapping a broken appliance in an existing house is governed by different and looser rules.

Can I still get a gas stove in a new Santa Monica home?

It is difficult, not flatly banned. The energy target is built around all-electric design, so a mixed-fuel project has to make up the difference elsewhere, and often it is not worth the trouble.

Did the Berkeley court ruling kill Santa Monica's rule?

Not directly. Berkeley banned gas piping outright, while Santa Monica works through energy-performance targets, which most lawyers consider a different and sturdier legal footing. Nothing here is fully settled.

Will going all-electric raise my bill?

It can raise the electric bill while erasing the gas bill, so the honest comparison is the combined total. That depends on your rates, your heat pump's efficiency, and how much you heat and cool.