Gas Appliance Controversy

Nancy, I remodeled my kitchen 2 years ago and got an induction cooktop. I've never had gas in the kitchen, and don't like to cook on gas. I've used an electric ceramic cooktop for 15 years. I LOVE the induction cooktop. It heats instantly and evenly, and is a dream to keep clean. Just spray and wipe. No drip pans. The burners turn off automatically a few seconds after you remove the pot. The handles never get warm. I rarely have to use pot holders. 

I also replaced my washer/dryer a few months ago with a GE front loader. My water consumption has plummeted, and the dryer drys much faster than my 20+ year old model so I'm assuming I use less electricity overall. 

Next will be the furnace. Natural gas prices have exploded, and may never come down much. Our gas bill was ~50% higher though consumption was similar to last year. I'm researching heat pumps, which offer cooling and heating (we don't yet have A/C).

I've had an electric for 20+ years and it's been fine.  I have a Duracell PowerSource 660 to power the fridge and the microwave during power outtages.

Before 1994, I used to think it would be more practical to have a gas stove in the event of power outtages but then the 1994 Northrindge earthquake happened.  The kitchen cabinets and the range were torn from the walls and the fridge was in the dinning room.  Gas leaked from just about every structure in the neighborhood and the last thing I wanted was someone lighting an open flame of any sort.

Ikea sells separate induction hobs that are relatively cheap
https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/tillreda-portable-induction-cooktop-1-zone-black-30546508/
You can test for yourself, and if you decide to go for a big one, you can still use it say in a rented vacation place, or it's good for one first flat too (student accomodation and the like, if you got kids)
I am all electric in the UK, and electricity have risen too. So it's not really a battle between electricity and gas, it's a battle for heat efficiency. I bought a "multi-cooker" (the fancy ones like Ninjas are too expensive for me so I bould a smaller, cheaper one).
I can highly recommend for any stew, rice, even pasta. Another thing is that nothing ever gets burn, or you're not running the risk of forgetting the pan on the hob.
Now there is only 2 of us, and part of the appeal is that, as a freelancer, I work at unholy hours, meaning that the convenience of a meal I can program is great. But I have seen my bills lower dramatically since I got this stuff.
Coupled with a bread making machine, since I'm making my own bread, sinced the heat bread-making is requiring is quite astounding.

Well I take back everything I said about natural gas being cheap.  It's not cheap anymore!  😲

My neighborhood message board is flaming with complaints about recent gas utility bills jumping from $147 to $700!!!   Ouch.   December-January were especially cold & wet months here but that's not the reason.  The radical price hikes are attributed to severe supply chain issues of unknown duration.  And once utility prices go up, they rarely come back down again.

Replacing the aging furnace with an high efficiency heat pump may be of imminent necessity.  Nobody can afford $700 gas bills.

If you produce your own electricity (via solar panels …) it could be interesting to use more electrical appliances than gas appliances. If the electrical energy is produced by coal or gas, you did not do anything for saving CO2, by switching to electrical appliances.

But in the long term, switching to electrical appliances will prove the better system.

I've used both types - electric and gas and between the two prefer electric. Induction cooktops, however, seem to be more efficient in power usage.

I have electric and given the opportunity I would switch to gas.  I've worked in kitchens in the past, and there is just nothing close to a gas burner.

I discovered recently that induction conversion plates are a thing. Like a heat diffuser but for induction rather than gas.

Pros and cons to both, Nancy, but when I have lost electricity for five days on more than one occasion,  I have been grateful that I could light my gas stove with a match for coffee and bath water. 

Jane

Personally, I love gas stoves and really dislike electric. My biases aside, if you switch to an electric stove, it may cost you a great deal in getting power to it. You would need a dedicated 30 amp breaker for it and have to run wire to your stove's location, which could be pricey.