No new residential-type gas appliance that is equipped with a pilot light shall be sold in the state after an alternate means has been certified by the commission. This prohibition shall become operative 24 months after an intermittent ignition device has been demonstrated and certified by the commission as an alternate means. The commission may determine, after demonstration, that there is no feasible alternative means to the use of pilot light or that the use of a pilot light is necessary for public health and safety.