Hello,
As a member of the movement for affordable and clean energy for all people in DC, we are writing to ask for your help in stopping DC from wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on investments that will give fossil fuels a lifeline in our city and enormously increase residents’ gas bills--exacerbating the existing cost-of-living, housing, and climate crises.
The DC Public Service Commission (PSC), which regulates DC’s energy system, is considering allowing Washington Gas to impose new fees on gas customers to raise $672 million to replace nearly all the natural gas pipes in DC–whether or not a replacement is necessary. They are saying that they need this money to maintain their infrastructure and fix leaks, but in reality, it’s a wasteful cash grab at the expense of our communities.
We have a short window–until May 2–to let the PSC know that the public opposes this project. Can you send a quick email to the PSC, telling them the people of DC oppose this deal? Our partners at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) have made it easy - click here to send an email, and feel free to personalize if you have time.
More on why this project is a bad deal:
It purports to be about safety, but Washington Gas has not shown it doesn't care about safety: It already runs one of the leakiest gas infrastructures in the country, running repairs where it’s most convenient, as opposed to where new infrastructure is most-needed.
Washington Gas’s plan does not work to reduce DC’s gas infrastructure in ways that would keep our homes and communities safe and healthy, and would make consumers responsible for costly fees for this infrastructure long past its usefulness and past the point when DC plans to be on carbon neutral energy.
We know that low-income and housing-insecure people will have a more difficult time getting off of gas by upgrading appliances or moving to housing with more up-to-date equipment, so it is likely that the costs associated with this project would fall disproportionately on those least able to afford them.
Will you join us in sending this letter to the Public Service Commission, telling them to say no to a deal that is bad for DC residents, bad for our community’s infrastructure, and bad for our climate?
Thanks,
We Power DC
P.S. Want to join other people working to stop this project, and build power behind a utility that does put people over profit? Click here, or email [email protected], and one of our organizers will reach out to connect with you.
