By Jeremy Deaton
Shifting away from natural gas to electric heating appliances would mean less revenue for Philadelphia Gas Works, the country’s largest urban gas company, which employs around 1,600 people. To help Philadelphia Gas Works make this transition, the city conducted a study to find ways the utility can diversify its business so it can continue to thrive even after Philadelphia exits natural gas.
Although Philadelphia Gas Works is owned by the city, it has spoken out against proposals with the gas industry that would help Philadelphia meet its carbon emissions reduction goals. Documents obtained through a public record request show that Philadelphia Gas Works fought building codes that would restrict the use of gas and provided interest-payer dollars to trade groups that opposed electrification.
In 2019, Philadelphia Gas Works paid membership dues of $ 421,979 to the American Gas Association and $ 56,000 to the American Public Gas Association – money drawn from Philadelphia interest payers. Both groups are fighting to curb natural gas consumption, according to recent reports.
“When you pay your gas bills in Philadelphia, Philadelphia Gas Works takes that money and pays it to groups like the American Public Gas Association and the American Gas Association who take action against electrification,” said Charlie Spatz, a researcher at the Climate Investigations Center, which received the documents. “The gas supplier contradicts the actual guidelines of the mayor’s office and the city council.”
This tension is most evident in building codes. Every three years the not-for-profit International Code Council issues building codes that are largely adopted by state and local governments. Government and industry representatives vote on these codes. In 2019, Philadelphia Gas Works dispatched 12 representatives to vote on a new list of energy saving codes. They outnumbered the nine voters who represented the City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Office of Sustainability.
Philadelphia Gas Works urged its representatives to vote on cleaner building codes. In an email dated November 2019, Gregory Stunder, Vice President of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs at Philadelphia Gas Works, distributed the American Gas Association’s voting guidelines to the utility’s voting representatives.
Stunder wrote: “PGW asks you to vote according to the attached list of recommendations, which was drawn up in consultation with the American Gas Association (AGA) and the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB). These are the identified critical points that require action by the gas industry. “
The American Gas Association recommended voting against several measures that would limit the use of natural gas in buildings. Such a measure would encourage the use of more efficient water heaters in new homes. Another would equip new homes with the wiring required to replace gas appliances with electrical appliances.
A Philadelphia Gas Works spokesman defended the email in which he informed his representatives about the vote: “We take our responsibility seriously to reconcile the interests of our customers, the needs of the city and our commitment to sustainability and the environment. In this case, we believe that the AGA’s guidelines have adequately balanced these priorities. “
This would bring Philadelphia Gas Works into conflict with local officials. A spokesman for the city of Philadelphia said, “The Office of Sustainability has voted for any code changes that would support greater energy efficiency and the adoption of renewable energies, or would otherwise support our climate goals.”
Despite objections from industry associations, both measures received more votes. However, the American Gas Association and other groups later appealed to the International Code Council to override these measures by voters. In both cases, the International Code Council ultimately joined the American Gas Association. Neither of the two measures will be included in the updated building regulations. The development is a blow to the electrification effort.
“When you have an all-electric home, every electrical system in your home will keep getting cleaner as the electrical grid you’re connected to gets cleaner,” said Lauren Urbanek, senior energy policy advocate with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “It makes the most sense to do this during construction rather than going back and retrofitting and making some very large and disruptive changes to a home’s electrical system.”
Industry groups triumphed not only in the International Code Council’s appeal process, but also in the revision of building codes. The International Code Council is now adopting a new system in which local governments can no longer vote on future energy efficiency codes, HuffPost reported. Codes are created by committees that give industry groups more leverage over the process. The American Gas Association said it supported the changes.
In addition to rejecting clean building standards, the American Gas Association also supports so-called “preemption” laws that would prevent locally elected officials from restricting the use of natural gas, according to an NPR investigation. Dozens of cities, mostly in California, have already adopted measures to limit the use of natural gas in new buildings, sparking a wave of preliminary ruling bills.
In a 2020 presentation, the American Gas Association listed “Preventive Laws” among its initiatives. Arizona, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Tennessee have already passed such laws. Strikingly similar preemption certificates have been introduced in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, and more recently Pennsylvania.
A spokesman for the city of Philadelphia said the city “has and will always speak out against attempts to prevent local governments from making critical government decisions to protect their residents.” As the American Gas Association supports preemption bills, the Center for Biological Diversity is asking federal regulators to prevent utilities from sending interest payer dollars to trade groups.
Natural gas is a major driver of climate change, which is already causing extreme heat and severe storms in Philadelphia. While the entire energy sector is expected to use less natural gas in the coming years, demand for buildings is expected to increase. Buildings make up around 12 percent of carbon pollution in the United States. Multiple independent research shows that in order to curb climate change, homeowners will need to replace gas-powered appliances with electrical appliances that run on clean energy.
Jeremy Deaton writes for Nexus Media, a nonprofit climate change news service. You can follow him @deaton_jeremy.
Selected image by Torsten Dettlaff from Pexels.
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