SEATTLE — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill last month to reduce the use of natural gas.
“It would be very unwise, prudent, and economically kind of dumb to shackle ourselves to a product that’s going to cost more money over time,” Inslee said during a press conference in Olympia on March 7.
Though he signed new legislation, House Bill 1589 is not the natural gas ban that opponents accuse it of being. Simply put, HB1589 incentivizes customers and pressures utility companies, specifically Puget Sound Energy (PSE), to move away from fossil fuels and towards the state’s often touted goal of 100% clean energy.
HB1589 was passed by the House by a narrow margin in early March and signed into law by the governor on March 28. The new climate-centric legislation lays out a framework for the state’s largest utility company, Puget Sound Energy, and others to transition to clean energy.
In part, it requires large utility companies to consolidate their gas and electric services into one account by 2027.
“It’s a good bill because it helps Washington move forward in this transition in a planning way over years to help people in this transition. I’m confident it will do that. The majority of legislators shared my view in this regard,” Inslee said.
It does include some restrictions. Starting in 2025, utility companies may no longer offer customers rebates for purchasing natural gas equipment, and by 2031, a utility may “not include electric air source heat pumps with gas backups as part of its electrification programs.”
The Building Industry Association of Washington helped to kill similar legislation last year and says HB 1589 is nothing short of a ban.
“It will make it more expensive to build homes. It will make our energy grid more unreliable for the people that are living in those homes, and it will force people living in current homes that are served by Puget Sound Energy Natural gas to convert their homes and potentially be unable to stay and live in their home,” said Jan Himebaugh the managing director of external affairs for the Building Industry Association of Washington.
“A lot of people want to say that a 38-page bill that doesn’t contain the word ban means it’s not a ban, but it’s 38 pages describing a ban to tell them to go all-electric,” she continued.
Inslee is not shying away from a potential increased cost to customers, calling any price increases "temporary" as he argues that renewable energy will become more affordable as technology improves.
“We don’t have a choice here; Mother Nature is making this choice. We have no choice but to go to cleaner sources of fuel. The health of our children depends on it. It’s not a decision by a politician; it’s a decision by Mother Nature and the science that mandates that we go to cleaner fuel,” Inslee continued.
Puget Sound Energy addressed what it calls the “misinformation” surrounding HB 1589 on its website. The utility explains that the newly passed law “does not include a ban on natural gas, and it does not change PSE’s obligation to serve natural gas to our customers.”