Press Releases and Statements

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Audrey Casey

Communications and Marketing Director

American Public Gas Association (APGA)

Email: acasey@apga.org

APGA Statement on DC Mayor Signing City-Wide Gas Ban in New Construction

Washington, D.C. (August 3, 2022) – Today, the American Public Gas Association (APGA), representing more than 730 local, municipally owned natural gas systems in 38 states, issued the following statement in response to Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s signature of a measure that would enact a city-wide ban on the use of natural gas in most new construction by 2026:

“APGA is disappointed to see the city council and the mayor of our nation’s capital enact a ban on the use of natural gas in new construction, thereby jeopardizing access to affordable, efficient and reliable energy. Since approximately 41% of DC’s electricity generation relies on natural gas, such a policy will only shift the usage of natural gas in homes to a less-efficient form and further strain the region’s fragile electric grid. Amid ongoing, rising inflation, forced electrification measures like this one threaten to exacerbate the existing financial burden on families and businesses already struggling to pay high energy prices.

Over 155,000 households and nearly 10,000 businesses across Washington, DC, currently depend on the direct use of natural gas. By signing the City Council’s gas ban, Mayor Bowser ignores the proven track record of the natural gas distribution system to provide residents of the District with reliable, affordable energy. We encourage policymakers elsewhere to avoid following the capital’s example and instead preserve their constituents’ access to the form of energy that best suits their family, budget and lifestyle.”