Newton is one of ten Massachusetts communities that is aiming to participate in the Ten Communities Program – a state pilot program to require electrification of all new buildings and major renovations of those buildings. The goal of the pilot is to eliminate reliance on fossil fuels as a power source by substituting electricity in new construction and significant additions and alterations of existing buildings.
Newton City Council’s Zoning and Planning Committee has been working with the City’s Sustainability office on the proposed ordinance and was set to discuss and vote on it at its meeting on March 18. Shortly before the meeting, Sustainability Co-Director Ann Berwick sent a memo to the Committee asking it to hold consideration “because the Sustainability & Climate Team has gotten new information from the State Department of Energy Resources (DOER) that may change some of our interpretation of how the proposed Electrification Ordinance will operate.”
According to Co-Director Berwick, the issue that led to that memo was whether, if a major renovation triggers the electrification ordinance by virtue of its size, the remainder of the building must be electrified as well. DOER responded that there was no such requirement. While there is no language in the draft ordinance that addresses this question, “We wanted to be sure we were describing the situation correctly,” Ms. Berwick told Fig City News.
The Zoning and Planning Committee is now scheduled to consider the proposed Electrification Ordinance at its meeting on April 8.
