On June 12, the DC Public Service Commission (PSC) issued a decision dismissing ProjectPipes 3, the third installment of Washington Gas’s roughly $4.5 billion plan to replace miles of gas pipes in DC. Through ProjectPipes 3, Washington Gas sought approval of roughly $672 million for pipeline replacements over a five-year period.
Sierra Club promptly intervened in this docket, and Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program (ELP) worked with Earthjustice to file technical comments opposing ProjectPipes 3 on the basis of its inconsistency with DC law and the program's prior cost overruns and mismanagement. ELP also wrote a letter on behalf of the Beyond Gas DC coalition that called on the DC Council to investigate the inconsistency between gas pipeline replacements and DC climate laws. The DC Council then issued a letter warning the PSC that continued spending on gas pipes was, in fact, inconsistent with DC law. The Council’s letter in response to Sierra Club’s advocacy was likely a strong factor influencing the PSC's decision to dismiss ProjectPipes 3.
This decision marks a significant shift in policy as the PSC had previously approved Washington Gas’s requests for recovery under ProjectPipes. In its order, the PSC called on Washington Gas to submit a more limited alternative plan for replacing unsafe pipes, one that “appropriately aligns with the District’s Climate goals” and focuses on replacing the “highest-risk pipe segments . . . while minimizing the stranded assets as the District continues to undergo the energy transition.”
This decision not only signals the PSC’s recognition that investments in the gas system are incompatible with DC climate law, but also reduces the costs that DC ratepayers will be required to spend on stranded assets—pieces of infrastructure that are no longer “used or useful,” but that ratepayers are still required to pay for. As DC electrifies its buildings in compliance with its climate laws, customers who are able to afford the up-front cost of electrification will transition away from the gas system, leaving lower-income customers to pay a growing share of the costs of these stranded assets.
This success was the result of a coalition-wide effort. Sierra Club was represented by Earthjustice, which worked closely with ELP Associate Attorney Sari Amiel. The Sierra Club DC Chapter and other allied organizations were instrumental in organizing rallies, helping DC residents testify against ProjectPipes, and urging the DC Council to weigh in against this program.