Electrification – WIND WORKS

This is the first in a series of articles on electrifying our house so we can “stop burning stuff.”

Yes, we already have electricity, but we use fossil gas for heat, hot water, and cooking. That’s what we plan to electrify, eliminating fossil gas from our home.

Our gas is provided by PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric Co.), our notorious utility company. Notorious because it killed eight people in San Bruno, California in a massive gas explosion in 2010 then they followed that up by killing another 85 people by starting the Camp Fire in 2018. In 2020 the company filed for bankruptcy, and since then been resuscitated. However, to its customers it’s still the same old PG&E.

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The study finds that electrifying the nation’s homes would notably improve outdoor air quality, leading to 3,400 fewer premature deaths, 1,300 fewer hospital admissions and ER visits, 220,000 fewer asthma attacks, and 670,000 fewer days of reduced activity or missed work for Americans each year.

While electrification is often discussed as a key strategy in addressing the climate crisis and lowering energy bills, this new research helps establish electrification as a public health intervention with wide-reaching potential.