On May 22, APGA board member Mike Casper of JCE Co-Op, testified before the House Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security at a hearing titled Green Building Policies: Jeopardizing the American Dream of Homeownership.
Mike was invited to participate and offer the perspective of community-owned gas systems on the numerous efforts at various levels of government to take away consumer choice and force costly fuel switching. Mike shared several examples of government policies that aim to pick winners and losers in the energy mix and negatively impact Americans’ access to affordable, reliable, and efficient natural gas. A couple of the harmful policies that Mike highlighted at the hearing are below:
- The Department of Energy’s (DOE) “Clean Energy for New Federal Buildings and Major Renovations of Federal Buildings Rule” which will significantly restrict many federal buildings’ future use of onsite energy from fossil fuels, including affordable and resilient natural gas. Read more here.
- DOE’s many new rulemakings that set minimum efficiency standards for gas appliances that are not cost-justified and do not result in significant reductions in energy consumption. In most cases, these efficiency standards will severely restrict the market of affordable gas appliances like gas-fired furnaces and water heaters, ultimately forcing Americans to choose costly electric alternatives. Read more here.
- States and localities adoption of misguided building code and standard provisions that effectively limit a consumer’s ability to choose a gas appliance. Some cities and states are even explicitly banning natural gas hookups for new buildings. Read more here.
“The path to our country’s affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy future requires the continued utilization of community-owned gas infrastructure and its workforce,” Mike said in his opening statement.
Opportunities like these for APGA members to directly address members of Congress are invaluable as we work to educate policymakers on the importance of the direct use of natural gas. Thank you to Mike and the team at JCE Co-Op for their willingness to represent APGA’s members before the Subcommittee. Check out the hearing recording below, on the U.S. House Energy & Commerce's YouTube channel and follow APGA on LinkedIn for more about Mike's testimony.
For questions on this article, please contact Josh St.Pierre of APGA staff by phone at 202-407-0015 or by email at jstpierre@apga.org.