Debate heats up over proposed Chicago ordinance banning natural gas in new buildings

CHICAGO - Opponents of an ordinance that would ban natural gas from new construction buildings say more time is needed to study the measure and impact of the proposal.

Chicago Alderman Gilbert Villegas (36th Ward) says the proposed "Clean and Affordable Buildings Ordinance" is neither clean nor affordable.

Villegas says banning natural gas will cause the cost of electricity to dramatically increase, hurting low and middle-income Chicagoans the most.

"During the winter's frigid temperatures, where tens of thousands Chicagoans were left without electricity, now is the worst possible time to hastily slam through an ordinance without examining true cost," said Villegas.

Villegas says the cost of electric energy to heat a home is more than twice as much as natural gas, even if the electric heaters use the latest and most efficient technology.