This week on “The Climate Divide,” we examine the competing visions of D.C.’s energy future
Yellow spray paint marks cover the streets and sidewalks of the District, identifying the more than 1,000 miles of gas pipes beneath the city. On this week’s episode of “The Climate Divide,” we’ll explore the recent developments with Washington Gas’ contentious program to replace much of the underground natural gas delivery system over the next 30 years.
The D.C. utility is a decade into PROJECTpipes, a gas line overhaul that’s funded by a surcharge on utility bills. The company says the project will reduce dangerous gas leaks and the methane emissions that sprout from them. But local council members, climate advocates and District agencies have questioned the effectiveness and cost of the project, which is scheduled to continue through 2054, nearly a decade after the city is supposed to achieve carbon neutrality and be nearly fossil fuel free.
To give a sense of what it’s costing ratepayers, Washington Gas spent nearly $150 million on PROJECTpipes between 2021 and 2023, according to the company’s 2023 financial report.
“It’s been going on for 10 years now, and it’s been 10 years of mismanagement and inefficiency,” explains Laurence Daniels, the Director of Litigation at the Office of the People’s Counsel (OPC).
In February the OPC, a District agency that advocates for ratepayers, called for an investigation into how Washington Gas handles gas leaks in the city.
The episode also includes an interview with Tom Holen, a program manager at the London-based think tank, InfluenceMap, which studies the advocacy strategies of oil and gas companies such as AltaGas Ltd., a Canadian utility that bought Washington Gas in 2017.
Hola Cultura also reached out to Washington Gas several times by phone and email, but the company did not respond in time for publication. We will update the episode with Washington Gas’ comments if we receive them.
About “The Climate Divide”
In this fourth season of “The Climate Divide,” we’ll explore what crucial decisions need to be made today by our government to better prepare the District for extreme heat and floods, the DMV’s two biggest climate threats. Despite the city’s ambitious climate goals, there’s no guarantee that D.C. will hit its targets to eliminate fossil fuels from buildings and vehicles and expand the city’s shade-giving tree canopy.
“The Climate Divide” is hosted, produced and edited by Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe. Claudia Peralta Torres is the podcast’s sound engineer. Jaiden Hubbard, Jewel Sanchez and Sbeyde Herrera from the Society & Culture team in Hola Cultura’s Storytelling Program for Experiential Learning provided additional editing support. Christine MacDonald is the series editor and executive director of Hola Cultura. “The Climate Divide” is supported by Spotlight DC and the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
– Story by Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe
– Copy edited by Michelle Benitez
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Good work to raise these critical questions. Are the gas leaks factored in to the approximately 70% of GHG from buildings, or is it in addition to that DOEE figure?