Are Gas Utilities Prepared to Meet Oregon Climate Goals?
Posted on May 10, 2022 by Bob Jenks
Tags, Energy
Oregon has established requirements for gas utilities to reduce their emissions that contribute to climate change. Oregon’s gas utilities are suing to prevent the state from enforcing these reductions. But can utilities even comply with these regulations? Can they effectively decarbonize their systems? And what risk does this place on gas utility customers?
Recently, regulators opened an investigation to answer these questions.
Gas Fact Finding Investigation Offers Little Clarity
Last year, after a request by CUB, the Oregon Public Utility Commission opened an investigation into the future of gas in Oregon. This fact-finding was meant to consider the risks associated with emissions and gas utilities. The investigation concluded with a draft report in April, but the report offers little clarity. It doesn’t answer the questions that are in dispute.
Rather than conducting analyses and offering conclusions, the report summarizes utilities’ proposed compliance scenarios. It briefly references stakeholder skepticism. It also suggests limited strategies for future action, including hiring a 3rd party to conduct another investigation.
CUB hoped this process would help answer questions about the future of gas in Oregon and the risks for customers of those utilities.
CUB’s Analysis Shows Gas Utilities Don’t Have a Plan to Comply with Climate Requirements
Much of the debate in the investigation concerned whether the plans the gas utilities offered were reasonable to comply with the regulatory requirements. CUB’s analysis found that all three gas utilities had unrealistic assumptions in their compliance plans:
CUB believes that the gas utilities have not shown compliance with expected DEQ regulations as their models contain some questionable assumptions. These include Avista’s assumptions about hydrogen, Cascade Natural Gas’s assumptions about renewable natural gas availability, and NW Natural’s assumptions about energy efficiency.
Other stakeholders had similar concerns as CUB which were thoroughly expressed in the docket. Unfortunately, the draft report doesn’t weigh in on whether the utilities have reasonable compliance plans.
When You Are in a Hole, Stop Digging
The most disappointing part of the draft report is its call to continue to add new customers and grow the gas network. We don’t know if the utilities can reduce their carbon emissions consistent with state requirements. Growing those emissions by adding thousands of new customers each year seems irresponsible. Potentially we are taking a problem we don’t know how to solve and making it worse.
Oregonians are increasingly feeling the effects of climate change. 2021’s heat dome took the lives of more than 100 Oregon residents. And we’re seeing increasing droughts and wildfire. We are heading into a future that requires significant reductions in the emissions that cause climate change. This includes reductions in the use of fossil fuels like natural gas (methane).
Instead, Oregon gas utilities are suing to derail the state’s strategy to reduce emissions and are investing millions each year to add new pipelines to their systems. The expectation is that customers will keep paying for these pipes for decades, even after the year 2080.
Customers Deserve Answers on Gas
Oregonians invest millions each year in new heating and cooling systems for their homes. Without guidance about the future of the gas system, customers cannot make informed decisions. Gas furnaces last for 20 years or more. Without answers, households could be locked into the wrong heating and cooling systems for decades.
Gas utilities like to promote their product based on customer choice. But Oregonians cannot know the risks of “choosing” gas without the facts. CUB will continue with our own investigation. We will continue to share important information with consumers.
CUB had hoped that an investigation into the future of natural gas would add some clarity. But based on the draft report, there is a lot more work to be done.
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05/11/22 | 0 Comments | Are Gas Utilities Prepared to Meet Oregon Climate Goals?