Please Join Us To Hear A Story of Resistance…
Indigenous Grandmothers vs. AltaGas
(Parent Company of Washington Gas):
A Cautionary Tale for Washington, DC!
Thursday June 20, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Foundry United Methodist Church- 1500 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20036
Stop Project Pipes!
Can you believe what Washington Gas (WGL) is trying to do now?
There are thousands of gas leaks across D.C.’s gas system and many of them are potentially explosive. Yet rather than just focusing on fixing these dangerous leaks – as they are already required to do by law – Washington Gas wants to charge ratepayers billions of dollars for replacing and upgrading the District’s entire gas pipeline infrastructure, locking us into fracked fossil gasfor decades. They call this ripoff plan Project Pipes.
That’s why we’re taking a stand. We’re pressuring the DC Public Service Commission (PSC) to REJECT WGL’s multi-billion dollar pollution plan.
Join us in speaking out NOW to stop this risky plan before it goes any further.
In June 2024, the PSC DENIED Washington Gas’s application for $672 million for phase 3 of Project Pipes, thanks to the advocacy of hundreds of DC residents and activists.
But Washington Gas is not letting up on their scheme to charge DC residents billions of dollars for unnecessary pipe replacements that are keeping the District hooked on dirty and unsafe fossil fuels. In September 2024, they came back with a rebranded proposal – District “SAFE” – that still asks for $215 million for the same program the PSC already rejected. We know this plan is about profit for the monopoly utility, not the safety of District residents because methane gas will never be safe. We’ve got to build up massive opposition to Project Pipes and this new District (un)SAFE while the PSC deliberates in the coming months), and we plan to use every tool in the toolbox.
Introducing: the Stop Project Pipes yard sign. With a no-nonsense message and a QR code for learning more, this FREE yard sign will help expand awareness and opposition to Project Pipes, Washington Gas’s $12 billion pollution plan.
WGL's Billion Dollar Pollution Plan: Project Pipes
Washington Gas, a subsidiary of the Canadian company AltaGas, Ltd has a monopoly on distributing methane gas – “natural gas” – in Washington DC.
Now, WGL intends to spend over $12 billion (in full costs) in ratepayer dollars on polluting methane gas infrastructure, much of which will be obsolete as the District moves toward electrification.
Project Pipes, Washington Gas’ accelerated pipe replacement plan, is already underway.
More of the Same: District (un)SAFE
With District (un)SAFE, Washington Gas is still asking for a 43% increase in funding for this project that has proven entirely ineffective at reducing dangerous methane gas leaks in the District. Those costs will be paid by D.C. residents through unfair surcharges on our bills, even while low-income households in the District already spend 7.5% or more of their income on energy bills, and one in four DC households pay more than 15%.
Washington Gas is also trying to introduce a customer “choice” plan that gives customers the false choice of entirely electrifying their home within just one year or consenting to the Project Pipes construction on their property. But while Washington Gas will spend an average of $35,000 of ratepayer funds per project to replace just the service line to a building, residents will receive absolutely no assistance with electrification. We know DC residents want to electrify their homes and protect themselves from the dangers of methane, but we also know the transition takes time and resources. This false choice will only be used by Washington Gas to justify their program, despite the mounting evidence it does little to stop dangerous gas leaks.
Take Action
The Dangers of Methane
Methane gas is a dangerous product that about half of all Americans burn inside their homes for heat, hot water and cooking. They do it because they are used to it and because decades of advertising has positioned gas as a desirable product. But most people don’t know the personal and global downsides of burning methane gas, or that modern, energy efficient appliances are a much better option for heat, hot water, and cooking. The dangers include:
- Gas burning in stoves and cooktops produces concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter which often triggers asthma, particularly in children, and can worsen COPD in older people
- Even when it doesn’t burn, the gas in your home contains benzene, a known carcinogen, and several other hazardous compounds which constantly leak from your gas appliances.
- Gas also causes apartments, homes and buildings to blow up far too frequently.
The Way Forward
In 2022, the DC Council advanced legislation requiring new buildings be built with all-electric appliances and is moving to electrify existing residential buildings. DC law also requires the District to be “carbon neutral” by 2045 – producing no greenhouse gas emissions that aren’t offset. Methane gas is simply not compatible with any strategy to achieve the DC law.
NOW is the time to stop this wasteful, breathtakingly expensive 40-year project that will increase climate pollution and keep DC locked into using fossil fuels for decades to come — well past when by law we must reach carbon neutrality! We need a groundswell of public opinion to show the PSC that DC residents support the DC Council’s courageous action to outlaw gas-fueled buildings and appliances, and we expect the PSC to respect the Council’s visionary leadership. The era of methane gas power must come to a close.
In the News
- Hundreds of gas leaks found in D.C. — some ‘potentially explosive,’ report says
- Washington Gas Wants to Raise D.C. Residents’ Rates By 20 Percent
- D.C. Hits Pause on New Funding for Washington Gas Pipe Replacement Project
- A call for an investigation into Washington Gas over aging pipe replacement project
- D.C. People’s Counsel Calls For Investigation Into Washington Gas Leaks
- Washington Gas is Betting Against the Climate, and Your Health, with Billions of Your Money
- A safer, more affordable DC begins with a plan to move beyond gas
Project Pipes Campaign Timeline
- In September 2024, Washington Gas refiled for a new phase of Project Pipes, renamed District SAFE, to greenwash their pollution plan
- In June 2024, the PSC denied Washington Gas’s application for Project Pipes Phase 3
- In April 2024, the DC Attorney General urged the PSC to pause Project Pipes
- In February 2024, the PSC said Project Pipes is not “just and reasonable or otherwise in the public interest”
- In February 2024, 11 DC Councilmembers sent a letter to the PSC opposing Project Pipes Phase 3
- In February 2024, though the PSC ultimately approved a 1-year extension to Phase 2 of Project Pipes, PSC Commissioner Richard Beverly wrote a strong dissent and cited local advocacy and opposition
- In February 2024, Climate and justice advocates joined by Councilmember Allen in call to end wasteful fossil fuel investments
- In December 2023, the PSC temporarily put Project Pipes on “pause” after 26 organizations called on the PSC to reject Project Pipes completely
Resources
- Factsheet
- Neighborhood Researchers Find Hundreds of Methane Gas Leaks Across DC
- SIGN ON NOW: District Safe Opposition – Organizational Sign-on Letter
- New Data: Washington Gas Is Reducing Normal Maintenance of Leaking DC Pipes While Still Spending More on Its Controversial and Expensive PROJECT PIPES Plan
- Cooking Up Danger report finds nearly two-thirds of the kitchens tested in D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland had unsafe levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) due to methane gas
