Attorney General Maura Healey wants Massachusetts to formally assess the future of natural gas in the state, Kallanish Energy reports.
“In order to combat the climate crisis and meet our clean energy goals, we must transition away from fossil fuels and change the way gas utilities do business in our state,” Healey said in a statement.
She filed an 18-page petition with the state’s Department of Public Utilities to launch an investigation to fully assess natural gas use in the state moving forward.
Massachusetts must move away from fossil fuels especially for home heating in order to meet its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, she said
That means Massachusetts will be transitioning to “a clean, increasingly electrified and decarbonized energy future by 2050,” the petition said.
“We want the DPU to take a close look at the future of the natural gas industry in Massachusetts and make the policy and structural changes we need to ensure a clean energy future that is safe, reliable, and fair,” she said.
The DPU said Healey’s petition is being reviewed.
The request makes Massachusetts the third state to kick off such a study. California and New York are the others.
Utility owner National Grid said it supports reaching net zero emissions by 2050 and welcomed Healey’s proposed investigation.
Such a review is long overdue, said Elizabeth Henry, president of the Environmental League of Massachusetts in a statement.
Natural gas is big in Massachusetts. It is used to heat 52% of homes and it provides 70% of the fuel to make electricity. Electricity provides 15% of home heating and oil provides 27%.
Natural gas use is growing and it remains an inexpensive fuel that is cleaner than coal.
Healey contends that the state needs to reduce the use of natural gas and other fossil fuels in heating buildings in order to meet its net-zero emissions goal by 2050.
She said the upcoming decline in fossil fuel demand will require gas distribution companies to make major changes in their corporate planning and business models.
She said that DPU will also need to develop new policies and structures to ensure reliability and to protect ratepayers.
Healey’s petition calls for a two-phased investigation with Massachusetts gas companies submitting detailed financial plans in the first phase and the second phase would focus on making the needed changes in a way that protects consumers.
