Elizabeth Manning Earthjustice, October 25th 2024
Portland, OR — In a major victory for Oregon’s energy customers and community groups advocating for a livable future powered by affordable clean energy over fossil fuels, Oregon regulators are requiring the largest gas utility in the state – NW Natural – to phase out subsidies for new gas hook-ups.
Eliminating these subsidies is a huge win that will reduce energy bills and protect our climate by ending uneconomic investments in fossil fuel infrastructure. The Commission ruled to phase out gas subsidies by 2027 that would have financed the cost of new methane gas lines and connections by charging all utility customers for these costs, even though these are only for new homeowners and builders. These subsidies have historically spurred builders to connect new homes to gas, locking future homeowners into dependence on fossil fuels even when doing so will result in high energy costs to these customers.
