It was only a few months ago that the nation watched the debacle of power outages in Texas in the wake of the unexpected, devastating deep freeze. We all empathized. It seems as if three or four times per year, a storm knocks out our power, leaving tens of thousands of families without energy for days, and in some cases, weeks.
With events like this in mind, it’s troubling to see so many state governments rushing ahead on an “electrify everything” path as a perceived solution to protecting the environment. Within these efforts, one of the most extreme plans is to outlaw all fossil-fuel heating systems—natural gas, heating oil, and propane-fired boilers and furnaces—and replace them with electric heat pumps.
Here’s the catch: Heat-pump conversions are expensive and do not work very efficiently when the weather gets cold. Under 32°F, heat pumps become extremely inefficient and need a backup system to keep your home warm! Plus, electricity production generates the second-largest share of greenhouse emissions. (Transportation is number one.)
Here at Murray-Heutz Oil and Propane, we are in full agreement that we must take aggressive steps to address climate change too—and we’ve already taken a stand. That’s why we deliver ultra-low-sulfur heating oil and energy-efficient propane. Our heating oil produces near-zero-emissions. And propane produces near-zero emissions too—and far fewer than electricity does.
The current strategy by federal and state governments to reduce carbon emissions primarily through electrification is shortsighted. Many of these state and federal agencies will not even engage with the heating oil or propane industries to learn how we are already helping them achieve their carbon-reduction goals right now.
However well-intended the “all-electric” movement is, it is relying on breakthroughs that have not yet happened to an already unreliable electric grid. The last thing we need to do is to overload an electric grid that is not ready for primetime.
Contact us to learn more about what we can do together to be part of the movement toward a carbon-free future.
