In The News

River Terrace Residents Unite Around FY 2025 Funding of Healthy Homes Legislation

With the unanimous first reading approval of the Healthy Homes Act on April 2, the D.C. Council inched closer to helping 30,000 low- and moderate-income D.C. residents take steps to convert their home appliances from gas to electric power. But Mayor Bowser’s budget proposal jeopardizes the implementation of the legislation by diverting money from the SETF to the payment of the District’s electric bills. …

Protesters slam gas group’s use of customers’ money to thwart climate efforts

A group of advocates and Democratic senators gathered in Washington DC on Tuesday to decry utilities’ practice of spending customers’ money to advance a pro-fossil fuel agenda. “Your home shouldn’t be hazardous to your health,” said Andre Greene, pastor of Varick Memorial AME Zion church, at the conference….

Senators, environmental groups push utilities to leave American Gas Association

Gas utility customers should not have to support American Gas Association (AGA) advocacy and lobbying when they pay their gas bills, lawmakers and officials with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the Gas Leaks Project, the Washington Interfaith Network and the Sierra Club said during an April 9 news conference….

D.C. Council Weighs in on Gas-to-Electric Appliance Conversions

The D.C. Council unanimously approved the Healthy Homes and Residential Electrification Amendment Act, creating a program for low- and moderate-income households to volunteer for a District government-funded conversion from gas to electric appliances. …

Energy costs can imperil Black homeownership. DC legislation could help

The Healthy Homes Act, legislation before the DC Council that would help 30,000 low-income households upgrade their homes with clean energy, would be a leg up for thousands of residents who live in homes needing repairs and the high energy bills that come with such homes. The legislation would fund energy-efficient equipment, such as heat pumps, a move that can save residents anywhere from $500–$1,000 per year on their utility bills, while providing life-saving heating and cooling for many buildings that lack adequate HVAC systems. It would also cover the cost of much-needed repairs, electrical upgrades, and insulation….

Natural gas in homes is dangerous

The Washington Post published two opinion pieces from Beyond Gas DC volunteers Barbara Briggs and Scott Williamson on the dangers of methane gas….

Lewis T. Tait Jr. and Ryane Nickens: DC must address root causes of public safety crisis by prioritizing healthy homes

How can we expect our neighbors to pay utility bills, buy and maintain homes, and see a thriving future for themselves when we can’t offer them jobs, let alone a career? We can build a foundation for a green economy right here in DC, ensuring that residents of wards 7 and 8 are the first to access jobs to help build and upgrade these homes. By enacting and funding the Healthy Homes Act, Mayor Muriel Bowser and the DC Council can invest in paid job training programs that would help create a pathway to family-sustaining careers….

January 18, 2024

Washington Gas Deploys a Mess of Lobbyists to Kill Legislation Promoting Electric Appliances

The utility is resorting to deceptive tactics to combat a bill helping low-income people ditch gas appliances. The legislation would create a retrofit program to be managed by the Department of Energy and Environment that aims to provide at least 30,000 households with free conversions to electric appliances, including stoves and HVAC systems, by 2040. Should it pass, the bill would be funded by an existing surcharge on utility bills that flows into a trust fund managed by the D.C. Sustainable Energy Utility, which manages renewable energy projects and home retrofits. “These firms, in church language, they sow seeds of discord,” says the Rev. Lewis Tait Jr., the pastor at the Village Church in Ward 7 who has been supporting the bill through his work with the Washington Interfaith Network. “It’s a business, and it’s going to fight back, even if it has to use false narratives to win its argument and get people to stick with gas.”…

D.C. Hits Pause on New Funding for Washington Gas Pipe Replacement Project

Citing poor performance and inefficiency, the District temporarily halted a $57 million expenditure Washington Gas had requested for its citywide pipe replacement program. Major investments into methane gas infrastructure run counter to the District’s stated commitment to become carbon neutral by 2045, advocates argue. D.C. recently released its Carbon Free DC plan, which calls for eliminating fossil fuel use in 90% of all buildings and homes within 17 years….