Stop Project Pipes

For over a decade, D.C.’s utility regulator – the Public Service Commission (PSC) – has allowed Washington Gas to raise gas bills to pay for accelerated pipeline replacement, despite a mandate in the District to move away from fossil fuels. For over three years, the PSC has been deciding the next phase of this project.

We don’t want a “next phase.” It’s time to end accelerated pipeline replacement in the District, for good, because we know the gas in those pipes is NOT SAFE. Toxins released in our homes from gas burning-appliances increase the risk for asthma and other health harms. Leaking methane traps heat in the atmosphere, along with CO2 from burning gas. Both are contributing to rapid climate change, a cause of increasingly dangerous weather events. Methane explosions and fires can destroy life and property.

Learn more about our STOP Project Pipes campaign.

Now, the PSC is considering Washington Gas’s "District SAFE,” a $215 million proposal to continue the same business-as-usual pipe replacement that will increase our gas bills even more and keep DC dependent on methane gas for decades to come.

Submit a comment to the PSC today. Tell them NO to the District SAFE Plan that does anything but keep us safe and encourage them to pursue meaningful energy planning.

This email will be directly sent to the office of the Public Service Commission.
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Public Service Commission

Dear Commissioner Trabue and Commissioner Beverly,

I am writing to urge you to reject Washington Gas’ expensive and ineffective accelerated pipeline replacement program, formerly known as Project Pipes and now called District SAFE. Now is not the time to commit to three more years of costly spending on gas infrastructure, particularly without appropriate evidence that Washington Gas’ work will improve safety or reduce emissions that are contributing to climate change.

I want to affordably heat and power my home with clean energy that does not put the health of me, my family, or the planet at risk. District “SAFE” does the opposite.

Ratepayers are footing the bill for runaway costs for this program already, with the average cost to replace just one mile of pipeline reaching over $10 million dollars and the cost for just one home at over $35,000. These are exorbitant costs to keep alive a dangerous gas system. Burning gas in our homes is unsafe because pollution from this gas is linked to serious health concerns like asthma, respiratory infections, arrhythmias, heart attacks, and premature death. Further, the emissions from methane gas are accelerating climate change, which intensifies dangerous extreme weather in the District like heatwaves and flooding. This is why the District has committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2045. Phasing out fossil fuels in our buildings is critical to improving our health and realizing that commitment. So it makes little sense to pour millions of ratepayer dollars into an aging system we are committed to moving away from in the next two decades. That is not a good use of ratepayer dollars, particularly with utility bills at an all time high.

Rather than approve District “SAFE,” the Commission should develop and approve a comprehensive plan for the future of heat in the District – a plan that is in line with District law and prioritizes healthier homes, lower bills, and the future of our planet. Early stages of this planning is now underway, so it does not make sense to make a three year commitment to expensive accelerated pipeline replacement when the Commission does not know how this project will or will not fit into its long term plans. And it is irresponsible to use my money to pay for this project while a more thought out and comprehensive long-term plan is created. In the meantime, expensive pipe replacement should be a last resort, used only when cheaper solutions like pipe repair are not available. And Washington Gas’s work should focus on fixing actively leaking pipes – of which there are thousands in the District.

My opposition to this project joins a chorus of public outcry about Project Pipes over several years. I urge the Commission to listen to these concerns and not lock us into three more years of costly spending on pipelines we do not want.

Respectfully submitted,

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