Voters show support for slowing Washington’s natural gas phase-out

Greg Lane, executive vice president of the Building Industry Association of Washington, holds a petition for Initiative 2066, the ballot measure aimed at blocking local and state efforts to transition away from use of natural gas. Anthony Anton, president of the Washington Hospitality Association, and Ryann Blake, owner of Chimney Techniques in Aberdeen, joined a news conference May 15, 2024 in Olympia, Wash. to kick off signature gathering. (Jerry Cornfield/Washington State Standard)

Washington voters on Tuesday were rejecting the state's aggressive moves to phase out the use of natural gas in homes and other buildings.

A ballot measure that aims to rein in those efforts was passing by a 51.2% to 48.8% margin in a statewide tally. Vote counting will continue in the days ahead.

Initiative 2066 repeals provisions of a new state law meant to hasten Puget Sound Energy's transition away from natural gas. It also bars cities and counties from prohibiting, penalizing or discouraging the use of gas for heating, appliances and other equipment in buildings.

The measure, which is 21 pages long , requires utilities and local governments to provide natural gas to eligible customers and prevents approval of utility rate plans that end or restrict access to natural gas, or make it too costly. It also erases state building and energy code requirements designed to get more electric heat pumps – instead of gas furnaces – installed in newly built houses, apartments and commercial buildings.

The Building Industry Association of Washington is the driving force behind the measure. The Washington Hospitality Association, Washington Realtors, Associated General Contractors and Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties are among the other backers.

This coalition paid Let's Go Washington, a conservative political committee founded by hedge fund manager Brian Heywood, to conduct a signature-gathering drive earlier this year to get the initiative onto the ballot. This is the same group that qualified the three other statewide measures that went before voters.

In the campaign, supporters kept it simple, insisting that the state was on a path to outlawing natural gas. Passing the measure , they said, would ensure consumers could choose between natural gas or electrification.

Critics countered that the measure would force cities, counties and the state to retreat from efforts to promote cleaner and more efficient sources of energy. That would include incentives to developers for constructing new homes with more efficient building technology and rebates to ratepayers for making energy-efficient upgrades.

The measure also will lead to higher housing and energy costs, they argued, citing that all-electric new homes are cheaper to build and operate than homes with gas appliances.

Opponents say if Initiative 2066 passes, they are prepared to sue.

They contend it violates a provision in the state constitution that limits the content of citizen initiatives to a single subject. This measure, critics said, deals with at least two different subjects – a law concerning future planning by Puget Sound Energy and an array of changes to the state energy code adopted by the state Building Code Council.

Authors of the initiative disagree. They said the measure was carefully crafted with such a potential challenge in mind and every section addresses protecting the choice to access and use natural gas.