Why Co-Ops Should Consider a Push to Electric Before It’s Too Late

Weber Realty Management has been expressing its concern to co-op boards over the future of gas in New York City. High fuel prices, constantly changing mandates and large upgrading costs have led to this strategy.

Weber Realty recently completed a project that involved an upgrade of a co-op’s gas lines. The board wanted to keep gas due to its impact on cooking in individual apartments. The project started in 2018 and it involved a tedious process from start to finish. It took three and a half years of plumbers needing access to apartments at a moment’s notice, engineering plans that had to match up to constantly altering NYC rules and small construction in each apartment. The plumbing portion of the project alone cost the co-op $115,000, which involved the association having to take a mortgage out to fund the job. The six-figure expense did not include the fees to the engineer, architect and contractors, which totaled another $50,000. This was all for an 8-unit building.

A gas-to-electric conversion project, which was completed in January, cost a 40-unit co-op building only $51,000 to complete. This pales in comparison to the total $165,000 capital expense from an 8-unit co-op building. From a time perspective, the conversion to electric was more valuable than upgrading the gas. This project took five months to complete and all it consisted of was an electrician putting out a sign-in sheet for residents to schedule a date. It involved no visits from Con Edison, no last minute engineering changes and a one-time access for residents.

There’s certainly benefits to gas. Residents feel they can produce higher quality food and experiment more with cooking. However, the constant charges and changes New York City will make, is it worth it? The Big Apple wants an electrical conversion. New buildings are being mandated to only be able to use electricity. Don’t bet against NYC wanting to make it more difficult for buildings to use gas in the future.