Bay Area air regulators have touted sweeping new rules that ban the installation of natural gas-powered water heaters and furnaces as a way to reduce smog and greenhouse gas emissions.
But with polls showing Americans’ top concern is the rising cost of living — and residents facing a roughly $3,500 cost increase for new electric heat pump models once traditional tank water heaters are prohibited — a plan is afoot to turn down the temperature on the ban.
On Wednesday, the board of the Bay Area Air District, a government agency based in San Francisco, will discuss softening the first-in-the-nation rules, which are set to take effect Jan. 1, to allow exemptions for low-income residents and for people who would need significant, expensive upgrades to their electrical breaker panels or structural changes in their homes to comply…