Natural gas regulations could be on WA ballot in November

OLYMPIA — Washington voters could decide in November whether utilities and local governments must provide natural gas to eligible customers and whether to curtail state regulations that disincentivize natural gas use.

The Building Industry Association of Washington and other supporters are starting to gather signatures on a wide-ranging initiative concerning natural gas, now that a Thurston County judge has settled a disagreement between industry and environmental groups over the initiative’s ballot description.

The hundreds of thousands of signatures required to get the measure on the ballot are due in less than two months. The proposal comes as other states across the country have moved to bar bans on natural gas service.

The new initiative is getting support from Let’s Go Washington, the group supporting a slate of initiatives that have secured slots on the November ballot.

Initiative 2066 would repeal key parts of House Bill 1589, which legislators passed this year. The bill made changes to state law to help Puget Sound Energy comply with earlier climate legislation, including the state’s plan to cap and reduce carbon emissions.

The measure would also repeal certain state building codes.

Supporters say they want to ensure that natural gas is available to Washington customers. Other backers include the Washington Hospitality Association and the Associated General Contractors of Washington.

“Banning natural gas is a reckless policy that harms nearly everyone in our community,” said Greg Lane, executive vice president of the Building Industry Association of Washington, at a Thursday news conference kicking off the signature-gathering effort in Olympia. “That’s why we strongly support Initiative 2066 to protect energy choice for everyone here in Washington.”

Washington has not banned natural gas. House Bill 1589 doesn’t ban natural gas or change PSE’s obligation to provide it to customers.

“[Puget Sound Energy] has an obligation to serve any customer who wants natural gas,” a spokesperson for PSE said in a statement Thursday. HB 1589 didn’t change that, so the relevant provisions in Initiative 2066 wouldn’t affect the company or its customers, they said.

“It’s disappointing to see continued misinformation about what the legislation require[s],” the spokesperson said, adding that the bill was “fundamentally a planning requirement” and that the initiative backed by the builders would “strip out important mechanisms that help us to cost-effectively plan for the eventual decarbonization of our system in alignment with customer choices and state policies.”

The initiative has drawn rebukes from environmental groups.

“This initiative strikes at the heart of Washington’s commitment to clean energy,” said Gregg Small, executive director of Climate Solutions, “Not just by making it more difficult for our state’s biggest utility to get to 100% clean energy, but also by repealing our state’s building codes, which are considered some of the best in the nation in terms of working to reduce carbon pollution.”

Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, and chair of the state Republican Party, who pursued an effort to repeal HB 1589, is throwing his support behind the builders’ initiative. Supporters must get about 324,500 valid signatures by July 5 in order to qualify for the ballot.

“The timing is going to be tight,” Walsh said in a text message. “But I believe we will qualify this version.”