The Sierra Club filed comments with the DC Public Service Commission opposing the “climate business plan” from Washington Gas that is designed to keep DC hooked on fossil fuels while increasing prices for ratepayers.
Washington Gas is required to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, but instead the utility is asking for permission to continue selling fracked gas while mixing it with gas from animal manure. The proposal is totally unrealistic – there’s a limited supply of manure gas, it costs 10 times more than traditional gas, and manure gas relies on unsustainable factory farming.
The Washington Gas plan offers no vision for moving toward clean home heating systems, like heat pumps powered by renewable energy.
On June 15, the Sierra Club filed comments and a technical review with the DC Public Service Commission. The Sierra Club wants the Commission to reject the fracked gas plan and begin a proceeding to move the utility toward zero emissions by 2050.
Also on June 15, the Sierra Club filed testimony on the Washington Gas proposal to waste hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade pipes that will become obsolete as we move away from fossil fuels.
For more information on the climate and health threat from gas emissions, visit the Beyond Gas DC website.