Noah Rott, Deputy Press Secretary, noah.rott@sierraclub.org
Denver, CO — Yesterday, Gov. Polis signed HB24-1370 "Reduce Cost of Use of Natural Gas" into law, launching a process that will encourage community pilot projects across the state to reduce expensive and polluting methane gas infrastructure. Learnings from these pilots will be critical in accelerating the transition away from gas, saving utility customers money, increasing efficiency, creating local jobs, and ultimately cutting dangerous climate and air pollution.
Gas utilities in Colorado invest over $500 million in maintaining and expanding methane gas infrastructure annually, putting the bill on customers and locking in costly pollution. The bill requires the Colorado Energy Office to identify five local governments interested in helping residents save money by using gas alternatives like heat pumps and thermal energy networks.
These local governments will then initiate neighborhood-level alternative projects, providing real cost savings to customers and demonstrating the potential for moving past gas.
In response, Colorado Sierra Club Director Margaret Kran-Annexstein released the following statement:
"We'll be watching with a lot of excitement as Colorado rolls out these pilot projects to help prove that there are better, more affordable options for powering our communities. Gas is hurting families and businesses both on ever-increasing utility bills and in the pollution it releases when burned, especially low-income folks who often face higher energy burden and breathe more pollution. This law will help us buck the narrative that endless gas infrastructure expansion is our only way to grow and provide good jobs. Electrification will help customers save dollars with improved technology and that's something we we can all get behind."
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.