Happy New Year! What an exciting year ahead. 2026 is off to a quick start with big news out of New York, where Governor Hochul officially ended gas pipeline extension allowances, saving New Yorkers over $600 million each year.
The very first California Heat Pump Week is planned for April 11-19. The California Heat Pump Partnership is sponsoring this week of activity designed to raise the collective awareness and favorability of heat pumps across California and help accelerate adoption. There will be a plethora of ways to get involved, and we’ll be sharing those with you as we get closer. Stay tuned!
I’m also excited about heat pumps getting more affordable in 2026. There is a bill in California to streamline heat pump permitting; there are new electric rates that encourage electrification in Massachusetts and California; and state-based incentives are coming online through energy efficiency and clean heat programs. Consumers love heat pumps—this is the year we make them even more affordable.
And finally, 2026 is the year of the contractor. We’ve got new Contractor Hubs coming to Colorado (this week!) and California (this quarter). I’ve been talking a bunch to our friends at ACHR News, and I’m looking forward to seeing many of you in Las Vegas in a few weeks for the AHR Expo.
We have a lot of opportunities in 2026 to advance building decarbonization. Let's get to work!
To help save households money on heating and cooling while supporting its highly skilled workforce, California must modernize heat pump installations with statewide permitting reform to make it easier, faster, and cheaper for Californians to upgrade to heat pumps.
We invite you to join us for our monthly California building decarbonization policy discussion! Learn about legislation, regulation, and what’s on the climate policy horizon as our coalition works to advance neighborhood-scale decarbonization, statewide healthy air standards, and energy affordability.
A Palisades Community Celebration - Our Electric Future
When: February 1, 2026, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT | Cost: Free Where: Paul Revere Charter Middle School, 1450 Allenford Avenue, Los Angeles, CA
Join Resilient Palisades’ Electrify the Rebuild campaign for a community celebration of renewal, togetherness, and forward-looking solutions.
Presented with support from the California Heat Pump Partnership and other organizations, this celebration of the people and organizations helping the Palisades rebuild will focus on all-electric homes and include home hardening and electrification demos, talks on electrification from residents, contractors and other experts, kids' activities, food, and music.
As part of Power Ahead Colorado, an ambitious program led by the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) to reduce the environmental impact of the region’s building sector, the Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC) launched the Colorado Contractor Hub—a free, centralized, digital workspace designed to engage, educate, and empower current and prospective heat pump contractors to grow their businesses.
“We applaud Governor Hochul for signing the repeal of the 100-foot rule line extension subsidy, ending the unfair requirement that costs New Yorkers over $600 million a year in unnecessary charges on their utility bills for new gas hookups,” said Allison Considine, Interim New York Director for the Building Decarbonization Coalition. “This will save New Yorkers money in year one, and prevent households from footing the bill for billions of dollars in future spending on expansion of the aging gas network as the state transitions to cleaner buildings.
“We applaud the Commission for launching this pilot to help put affordable, all-electric upgrades within reach for the Californians who need them most,” said Beckie Menten, California Director at the Building Decarbonization Coalition. “The tariffed On-Bill model removes the barrier of upfront costs and expands access for renters and low- and moderate-income households, delivering efficient heat pumps and real bill savings. This is meaningful progress toward an equitable, all-electric California.”
IN THE NEWS
14 predictions about what 2026 may hold for cities Smart Cities Dive BDC’s Panama Bartholomy predicts that 2026 will see cities increasingly launch energy-affordability initiatives that replace natural gas infrastructure and heating and cooking equipment with high-efficiency thermal energy networks, window heat pumps, and induction stoves.
7 numbers that explain why the future of buildings is all-electric Canary Media The rising price of natural gas, the billions of dollars that utility customers would save if line extension allowance policies were reformed nationwide, the number of heat pumps sold now approaching the number of air conditioners sold, and other data are cited by BDC’s Panama Bartholomy to demonstrate that building decarbonization continues to gain momentum as we enter 2026.
Why New York Can’t Afford to Keep Expanding Gas Infrastructure Empire Report New York Governor Hochul’s decision to sign the law repealing the state’s 100-foot gas line extension rule will remove a distortion that artificially favored gas expansion over more cost-effective alternatives, making New York’s buildings sector more efficient, affordable, and healthy, write Alliance for a Green Economy’s Jessica Azulay and BDC’s Allison Considine.
Building electrification policy continued to adapt to gas ban obstacles in 2025 S&P Global State utility regulators are increasingly reconsidering investment in gas infrastructure and expensive pipeline replacement programs not just for climate and health reasons, but also as a way to make energy more affordable, says BDC’s Matt Casale.
How sewage can be used to heat and cool buildings Associated Press The equivalent of 350 billion kilowatt-hours’ worth of hot water is flushed down drains each year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. This wastewater can be used to heat and cool buildings sustainably. BDC’s Ania Camargo Cortes described the results if cities and buildings implement thermal energy networks that use wastewater as a source of building heating and cooling: “If you can use wastewater, it’s going to be an enormous savings.”
Panama Bartholomy on Policy, Grid Readiness, and Contractor Opportunity ACHR News Podcast Host Dylan Kurt and BDC's Panama Bartholomy explore how affordability is boosting heat pump sales, why the future of the HVAC market is all-electric, and other building decarbonization topics affecting contractors on this episode of the podcast.
Jumping Jack Flash Needs No Gas - Just a Heat Pump The Energy Show Partnerships like the California Heat Pump Partnership, which is helping streamline the deployment of electric appliances, new "plug-and-play" induction stoves and heat pump water heaters that use standard outlets, and the cost and performance advantages of electrical appliances are some of the reasons contractors increasingly love electrification, BDC’s Panama Bartholomy tells podcast host Barry Cinnamon.
POLICY UPDATES
Each month, BDC summarizes key building decarbonization policy-related news from the states in which we currently work. For more details on policy-related news in each state, visit the state’s policy page by clicking the "Learn more" button beneath the state’s summary.
New York
In a major victory for building decarbonization in New York, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the repeal of the “100-foot rule” for new natural gas hookups. A 2025 New York State Energy Plan was adopted that recognizes that heat pumps, efficiency, and thermal energy networks, along with neighborhood-scale building decarbonization planning, will play a critical role in decarbonizing buildings while managing demand. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority increased funding for EmPower+, the state’s low- and moderate-income energy efficiency and building electrification program, by over $90 million compared to the plan it released in August. Two final Stage 2 Utility Thermal Energy Network (UTEN) pilot project plans were filed with the Public Service Commission (PSC), bringing the total number of complete Stage 2 project plans under review by the PSC to eight.
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission released its Thermal Energy Deployment (TEN) Work Group Report, which includes recommendations to the legislature on how to address barriers that currently prevent regulated gas utilities from deploying TENs in Minnesota. In addition, BDC, alongside our partners, finalized a study that includes a statewide TEN suitability analysis. This report is also heading to the legislature.
The Special Master overseeing Maryland's Future of Gas investigation issued a procedural schedule in late 2025 extending the proceeding through December 2026. The Maryland Department of the Environment announced that the Heating Fuel Provider Reporting Program, which will establish the data infrastructure needed to implement Maryland's Clean Heat Standard, is on track to launch in 2026.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) released proposed appliance standards to transition space and water heating appliances to zero-emission equipment through a market-based compliance mechanism. Public comment on the standards is open through January 14. Senator Scott Wiener reintroduced the Heat Pump Access Act (SB 222) to streamline heat pump permitting statewide, and the bill has already passed its first committee. The California Legislature has reconvened and must advance two-year bills out of their houses of origin by the end of the month.
Furthering our commitment to knowledge sharing, we are excited to continue our "Report Roundup" segment, which highlights insightful reports from other organizations in the building decarbonization movement.
Kentucky’s Energy Transition: Setting The Right Path Current Energy Group, December 2025 This study provides a comprehensive review of the options available to Kentucky to meet the electricity needs of its ratepayers in the most affordable, reliable, and resilient manner while achieving necessary reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Of the options, the least cost portfolio includes increasing clean energy production at significantly higher levels than currently planned by Kentucky’s electricity utilities.
Energy Justice at the Utility Scale: Insights from Los Angeles’s Path to Decarbonization Rachel Sheinberg, Stephanie Pincetl, Gregory Pierce, December 2025 To understand how energy justice frameworks can be applied at scale or in direct collaboration with energy providers, this case study examines Los Angeles’s LA100 Equity Strategies. It finds that there is significant promise in using these energy justice frameworks in the context of large-scale grid decarbonization, but it must be complemented with place-based strategies to fully address entrenched barriers to energy justice.
The Clean Heat Climate Opportunity: A Roadmap for Electrifying Low- and Medium- Temperature Industrial Heat The 2035 Initiative, December 2025 The industrial sector has long been considered a challenging area to decarbonize, but with recent federal and state policies, there is growing momentum to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from this sector. This report finds that electrification of low- and medium-temperature process heat can cut climate pollution from the industrial sector by at least 19% and, if paired with a clean grid, could result in at least $288 billion in cumulative economic benefits through 2050.
