Extinction Rebellion Opposes Washington Gas’ Request to Raise Rates of Gas Service
Washington Gas attempts to shove the cost of their destructive actions onto ratepayers
Washington, DC – This week, the DC Public Service Commission (DCPSC) hosted three community hearings regarding WGL’s request to increase rates for gas services and charges. This request isn’t only about the higher cost of natural gas; it is about Washington Gas shoving the costs of their destructive Project Pipes and endless pursuit of profit onto the shoulders of DMV residents, at a time when inflation soars and many families can hardly afford to put food on the table.
Below is a summary of a few testimonies from concerned community members. Extinction Rebellions stands with our community and calls on the DCPSC to reject WGL’s request to increase rates and to stop Project Pipes.
From Anne DeBuys:
“Let’s consider, in total, three enormous tranches of money that Washington Gas would like to obtain in the near term:
First, this historically large 53 million dollar ANNUAL rate increase, bringing WGL’s total rates to 226.4 million dollars PER YEAR.
Second, the proposed billing surcharge for PIPES 3, totaling almost 672 million dollars, at an annual average of over two-and-one-half times that allowed for the previous phase of work.
And third, simultaneously, Washington Gas Light has requested to issue up to 650 million dollars in long-term debt.
Add up these amounts and you’ll find yourself in the “billions” territory. Why does Washington Gas need so much money?
WGL says it’s operating at a deficit and cannot handle its debt service–while it intends to add 15 new construction crews for its pipes work.
Our gas bill includes costs for both “regular” pipe replacement and a surcharge for “accelerated” replacement. Gas customers should not be paying tens of millions of dollars effectively to advance Washington Gas’s haphazard infrastructure repair and its poor performance with leak reduction. We need to stop this huge investment in pipes and move faster toward electrification.”
From Julia Novey:
“I speak as someone in my 20's, for whom it is not an academic question whether or not our city does our part to preserve a livable climate ... DC cannot meet our climate goals while our buildings burn gas."
From Barbara Briggs:
“We don’t owe Washington Gas a living. It’s up to Washington Gas to change and to figure out how to serve our community as our…needs and options change.”
If you’d like to speak with one of the community members who gave testimony, or a representative from XRDC about the campaign to stop Washington Gas’ Project Pipes, please reach out to xrdc_press@unitedrebellion.com.
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Note to Editors:
For more information about Washington Gas' toxic pipeline project and XRDC's campaign to stop it visit https://www.xrdc.org/gas
Methane is the gas piped into your home to cook your food and heat your house. DC has some of the oldest underground methane gas pipes in the country, and these pipes are leaking large amounts of methane throughout the city. There are more than 6,000 leaks in the district — more than twice the average US city. Some of these leaks are so dangerous that they could explode at any moment, posing a severe and immediate threat to the city’s residents.
Methane gas kills. It severely harms the health of DC’s residents, especially the most vulnerable — children, the elderly, and people experiencing homelessness. When you light your stove, it sends nitrogen dioxide into your home. That can cause cardiovascular problems, respiratory disease, and premature death.
A gas stove also releases chemicals that can cause cancer and birth defects.
A lit gas stove also produces a poisonous cocktail of other chemicals and gasses like formaldehyde, carbon dioxide, particulate matter, and nitrogen dioxide. Children in homes with gas stoves are 42% more likely to have asthma than children whose families use electric stoves, a similar rate to children living with cigarette smokers. Stoves continue to leak methane into your home even when they’re turned off.
Washington Gas will tell you methane gas is “renewable,” “clean,” “natural,” “responsible,” and “green.” In fact, greenhouse gas emissions from the use of methane gas now exceed coal emissions in the United States — and methane heats the planet up to 80 times faster than carbon dioxide.
Methane concentrations in the atmosphere are so high that they’re now responsible for 30-50% of the global rise in temperatures. Leaking gas pipes, like those in DC, are a major source of US methane emissions. The amount of methane the fossil fuel industry releases is far worse than regulators think. And gas stoves in the United States release the same amount of greenhouse gas as 500,000 cars.
In December 2017, DC pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050. Washington Gas’ plans make this goal impossible to achieve. The Department of Energy and Environment calls Washington Gas’ business plan “technically deficient with significant errors.”
This is part of a longer coordinated PR campaign from Washington Gas. They have sponsored Petworth’s street festival, a community food drive for Thanksgiving, and is an official media partner with WUSA9, which provides an easy outlet for their greenwashed PR. All of this is smoke and mirrors so Washington Gas can go through with their deadly Project Pipes.
About Extinction Rebellion
Time has almost entirely run out to address the climate & ecological crisis, including the sixth mass extinction, global pollution, and abrupt, runaway climate change. Societal collapse and mass death are seen as inevitable by scientists and other credible voices if rapid action is not taken.
Extinction Rebellion believes it is a citizen’s duty to rebel, using peaceful civil disobedience, when faced with criminal inactivity by their Government.
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