The upshot of this residential electric vs natural gas discussion is:
- For new installations, the operating costs are roughly a wash. Roughly meaning within a factor of sqrt(2) or so (70% to 140%). Obviously this is going to depend on local energy prices and will change over time.
- There are a lot of advantages of not burning gas in your home, I won't go into them all now.
So if the upfront costs (haven't checked) and operating costs are truly equivalent, then electricity is a clear winner. If gas is cheaper, then depending on how much cheaper and how much you value the benefits of electricity, there's an incentive to go with gas.
And the greater energy density of natural gas is a clear winner for certain applications, like tankless water heaters. Maybe that's the only typical residential case?
Cheers, Wayne