Today, DC Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6), chair of the Council’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment, released the following statement after last week’s ruling by the Public Service Commission rejecting Washington Gas’s $672 million PIPES 3 proposal. The proposal would have replaced every gas line in the District, passing the costs onto ratepayers, rather than proposing a targeted plan focusing on the utility’s most pressing safety issues. In February, 12 of 13 members of the Council signed on to a letter written by Councilmember Allen urging the PSC to reject the proposal.

“Last Thursday’s ruling by the Public Service Commission was the right one for District ratepayers. The PSC rightly saw through this as a money grab and ordered Canadian-owned Washington Gas back to the drawing board to propose a plan addressing the very real issue of gas leaks — but in line with the District’s climate goals. The extensive infrastructure replacement proposed by Washington Gas went far beyond the justification of safety and would have expended hundreds of millions of dollars on fossil fuel infrastructure that doesn’t support our legally required climate goals. It made no sense.”