In late February, APGA provided input to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on policies to help make energy more affordable. One of our five advocacy priorities for 2023 is Protecting Gas Consumers from Price Volatility in Emergencies. With this focus, APGA staff, with support from our members, have been and will continue to engage policymakers. Both officials on Capitol Hill and within federal agencies need to act, limiting impacts to all gas consumers from volatile energy costs.
The Energy and Commerce Committee specifically asked for feedback on the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which APGA supports fully funding. This program is extremely important to our members’ communities, and if policies allow for price volatility to continue, then, when natural gas prices are higher, a bigger percentage of income will be needed to pay energy bills.
Besides urging full funding of LIHEAP, APGA encouraged the House Energy and Commerce Committee to consider other ways to help Americans access affordable energy, like reforming Section 5 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA). This policy update would ensure that public gas systems can continue to supply their customers, especially low-income consumers, with affordable, reliable, and efficient energy. As well, APGA highlighted the need for more energy infrastructure. If more pipelines are built, the supply can get to the areas of demand, helping stabilize the price.
APGA appreciates support from our utility members in providing this response to Congress and especially applauds the efforts to provide affordable energy to low-income, marginalized, and underserved communities. To see APGA’s response to the committee, click here.
For questions on this article, please contact Lindsay Selfridge of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-0834 or by email at lselfridge@apga.org.