NW Natural is raising rates, but here at Climate Solutions, we are fighting for Oregon households at the Public Utility Commission. As we discussed in our last blog about gas rates, rate cases are important for protecting customers from shouldering the costs of unrestrained utility spending. They are an essential tool for holding our monopoly utilities accountable. Oregon is lucky to have a tireless ratepayer advocate in the Citizens’ Utility Board, which intervenes in every rate case on behalf of consumer protection and customer affordability. Climate Solutions seeks to engage and intervene in rate cases where there is an opportunity to protect customers and deliver progress toward our climate goals. This week, we are diving deeper into the climate impacts we can have in rate cases.

Earlier this year, we intervened in an Avista Gas rate case and secured important progress through a settlement agreement. Avista agreed to do evaluations of “Non Pipeline Alternatives” or NPAs, where the company studies alternatives to replacing its leak-prone pipes with cleaner solutions. Avista has been spending $14.2 million (and rising) annually on replacing these leak-prone pipes. NPAs can include solutions like the electrification of the customers served by that stretch of pipe that would otherwise be replaced with more gas. Avista agreed to not only evaluate but to actually implement those NPAs when it is cost-effective to do so. As a part of this work to evaluate alternatives to pipe replacement, the company agreed to study and implement a Targeted Voluntary Electrification (TVE) pilot. In a TVE pilot, customers in a portion of Avista’s territory have the option and assistance to fully electrify their buildings. The gas infrastructure in that area could then come offline to reduce the overall fixed costs for the customers remaining on the gas system.

These kinds of dual victories for customers and the climate are what we can achieve when we partner with environmental justice organizations and consumer advocates like CUB in rate cases. In the current NW Natural rate case, we are working to secure wins that would eliminate incentives for gas expansion and improve energy choice by expanding energy efficiency and electrification options for customers. We have already settled on several key issues:

First, NW Natural has agreed to end its gas discounts for building developers, which provided an incentive for the build-out of new gas lines. The more the gas system expands today, the more fixed costs will be carried by customers and as more and more homes electrify, these additional costs will be carried by fewer customers and likely low-income customers who have a harder time electrifying. This is why it is essential to eliminate incentives for new fossil fuel infrastructure, and why this was such a critical victory in this rate case! 

Another issue we have settled with the company relates to NW Natural’s ambitions for hydrogen blending. Climate Solutions has consistently raised concerns about NW Natural’s lack of transparency surrounding its hydrogen plans, which represent a costly distraction from real climate solutions. In our settlement agreement, NW Natural has agreed to do more reporting on its research and development expenditures, like hydrogen blending. They also agreed to further stakeholder conversations about the implementation of the hydrogen transparency bill that Climate Solutions and our community partners led in securing last session. 

Finally, NW Natural has agreed to improve outreach and enrollment for their Oregon Low-income Gas Assistance program (OLGA). As folks continue to struggle with rising costs, people must have access to all the assistance they are eligible for. This settlement victory will help more families access the assistance they need to keep their heat on and pay their bills. 

We have made progress on these important issues, but we are still fighting for more wins for customers and the climate! We are still fighting to give low-income customers real choices when their gas furnaces break. Currently, when a gas furnace breaks down, low-income customers have no choice but to install a new furnace because NW Natural’s Low-Income Energy Efficiency program will only provide financial assistance for gas equipment. This can lock customers into a polluting appliance for over a decade, providing less efficient and often more costly heating than a heat pump, and no cooling. Our current fight is to ensure that customers have a choice when their old equipment breaks: replace it with a new gas furnace or upgrade to a heat pump! 

In the coming weeks, the Public Utility Commission will review the settlements we have reached and make decisions about the remaining arguments. If we are successful in securing these wins, they will have a lasting impact that improves the lives of everyday Oregonians. Here at Climate Solutions, we know that working in coalition alongside partners like CUB and Environmental Justice organizations makes for lasting changes that protect our environment and uplift all.environment and uplift all.