The next Building Energy Codes and Standards Committee (BECS) Meeting will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, January 14-15, 2026, at Sempra Headquarters downtown San Diego. Information regarding the hotels, meeting registration and preliminary agenda will be available in the near future.
Report on the Activities at the CSA Group U.S. Committee Week.
The CSA Group held its annual U.S. Committee Week for the Gas Appliances and Accessories and the Alternative Energy Vehicles Programs November 9-13. CSA Group, an accredited standards developing organization by both the American National Standards Institute and Standards Council of Canada, promulgates the binational standards for gas and propane appliances, valves, controls, CSST, and natural gas and hydrogen vehicle components and fueling. In addition to developing primarily safety standards using the consensus process for natural gas appliances, equipment and components, CSA also sponsors a design certification program for these and other products that manufacturers can submit to CSA for compliance to their specific standard of interest i.e., gas furnace, water heater, clothes dryer, kitchen ranges, and ovens, etc. Upon a successful evaluation of the product meeting the requirements of the standard, the manufacturer can apply the CSA seal of the compliance that the product meets the standard and code enforcement officials can approve the product for installation in homes and businesses.
AGA BECS staff reported that with the high level of interest in the gas industry for using hydrogen and hydrogen admixtures blended with natural gas, this area of interest was discussed at meetings of the Fuels and Appliances Strategic Steering Committee, the Binational Technical Committee, and the Hydrogen Task Force. The Task Force proposed expanding the definition of Test Gas A Natural Gas be modified to include up to 15% Hydrogen. This proposal was not acted on during the meetings. Additionally, the Task Group is proposing two new Test Gases be included in the standards, one for Hydrogen Admixtures with 20% Hydrogen and one for Hydrogen (95-100%). The Technical Committee requested additional research and data be provided prior to deciding.
Also, during the week:
- An update was provided on the development of a proposal to address carbon monoxide in furnaces to evaluate concerns raised by the Consumer Products Safety Commission. Work is ongoing, and a proposal for consideration and ballot is anticipated in 2026.
- An update on cyber-security for smart enabled gas appliances was provided.
- CSA is considering the future of ANSI LC 6, Natural Gas Operated Diaphragm Pumps. The standard needs to be revised to include Canadian requirements and become a binational standard. CSA is seeking members to join the technical sub-committee.
- A request was made to form a working group to address non-metallic venting materials in light of the recent vote to require UL 1738 certification in the National Fuel Gas Code. Currently, the appliance standards allow for non-metallic venting materials that meet ASTM standards or the UL 1738/ULC S636 standards.
- A CSA Group is forming a working group to address high altitude installation requirements for gas appliances.
Finally, the Fuels and Appliances Strategic Steering Committee (SSC) purpose is to establish the future direction of the CSA program in areas such as (a) market trends, (b) compliance, harmonization, and consistency, (c) program membership, and (d) advocacy and education. The SSC discussed the inclusion of hydrogen, hydrogen admixtures, renewable natural gas and DME in codes and standards, appliance energy efficiency, and indoor air quality. The SSC also discussed the code development and adoption process in both the U.S.A. and Canada. It is developing a process to track code adoptions at the state and provincial levels, along with the adoption of standards by model codes. Committee membership and succession planning was also discussed by the SSC. CSA is seeking recommendations on recruitment strategies.
AGA Submits Comments on the ICC Performance Code (ICCPC) and User Guide.
Following up on last week’s BECS Committee Update on End Use Codes and Standards report on the notice for public comments on the latest draft of the ICC Performance Code (ICCPC) and the working draft of the User’s Guide draft of the ICCPC found here User’s Guide Development. , AGA submitted timely comments proposing to reference Source not Site Energy Use Intensity (EUI) as the metric for measuring energy use with the rationale referring to the EPA’s US Energy Use Intensity by Property Type citing that EPA states “Source energy provides the most equitable way to combine primary and secondary energy types into a single common unit, ensuring that no building receives either a credit or a penalty based on its energy source or utility. You can learn more about source energy and the way it is computed at www.energystar.gov/SourceEnergy. We strongly encourage you to use source EUI.” Note also that the working draft of the User’s Guide is still available for review and comment through December 12, 2025.” We will provide the ICC response on our comments to the ICCPC and the User’s Guide when available.
Governor of New York’s Delays All-Electric Building Law That Was Set to Take Effect Next Year.
For your information, yesterday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul delayed implementation of a controversial all-electric building law that was set to take effect on Jan 1 of next year. According to the attached CBS news report, on Wednesday, “attorneys for the state agreed to suspend the law’s implementation until an appeals court rules on a lawsuit filed by various trade groups and unions who challenged it.”
State Codes Activity Update.
Attached is a weekly feature of the “Friday Update” covering state code calendar activities as presented by the online utility “Fiscal Note,” which is sponsored by APGA and AGA Code and Standards. Please review the update and determine if there are state code activities that impact your service territory or organization. AGA is evaluating the BECS memberships use and value of this information. Please advise us by December 15, 2025, of your experiences using this Update.
The American Gas Association represents more than 200 local energy companies committed to the safe and reliable delivery of clean natural gas to more than 73 million customers throughout the nation.
2026 BECS Committee Meeting Schedule
January 14-15, 2026, San Diego, California Hotel TBD
May 13-14, 2026, Portland, Maine Hotel TBD
September 16 -17, 2026, Wilmington, NC Hotel TBD