Coalition Files Lawsuit: Denver’s Electrification Ordinace

On July 3, 2024, NPGA joined a diverse coalition including the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the National Apartment Association (NAA), the National Restaurant Association (NRA), the Colorado Association of Home Builders (CAHB), and the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) in challenging Denver’s electrification ordinance. As we explained in our court filing, a federal law called the Energy Policy and Conservation (EPCA) preempts state and local laws governing the energy use and energy efficiency of products for which EPCA sets energy conservation standards, and the 2022 Denver Energy Code, that explicitly restricts the use of gas appliances, violates this federal law. This is the same legal theory under which the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, a federal appeals court governing several western states, invalidated the City of Berkeley’s electrification ordinance. NPGA has succeeded under this theory in supporting the repeal of electrification ordinances, including the City of Riverside earlier in June. NPGA continues to be involved in challenging electrification ordinances in New York and Washington States.