“We cannot allow further investments in pipelines when we must phase out all fossil fuel use,” Carra Sahler, Green Energy Institute at Lewis & Clark Law School staff attorney and director, said.
A coalition of 10 climate justice organizations submitted comments Feb. 14 to the Oregon Public Utilities Commission, or PUC, asking it to deny a Cascade Natural Gas long-term plan to purchase fracked gas from the Gas Transmission Northwest Xpress pipeline project, or GTNXP.
The GTNXP began transporting fuels through its fracked gas transport system in 1962, and the new project seeks to upgrade three existing compressor stations in Idaho, Washington and Oregon.
Advocates are concerned Cascade's investment in the project is a bad one in light of the decreasing demand for natural gas and its devastating environmental impact. The upgrades will increase the existing system's capacity, adding an estimated 3.47 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year for at least the next 30 years, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s environmental impact statement.
The Green Energy Institute, Columbia Riverkeeper, the Sierra Club and other local organizations weighed in on the Integrated Resource Plan, or IRP, sending comments to the PUC asking it to deny the plan. Cascade submitted its IRP to the PUC in 2023, saying it would commit to purchasing the natural gas once the project was finished. Gas utilities are required to submit IRPs showing how they intend to meet the future needs of ratepayers while complying with regulatory requirements like the state’s Climate Protection Program.
If the GTNXP is ultimately abandoned — a result climate advocates say is necessary to slow the rate of climate change — the losses will be passed on to ratepayers who have little input on where their energy comes from, according to Audrey Leonard, Columbia Riverkeeper staff attorney.
“Investment in GTN Xpress is one that actually will put risk on ratepayers because they're investing in infrastructure, and in a project, that could become a stranded asset,” she said.
If Cascade then falls short on its forecasted revenue, ratepayers could see increased rates as a result.
Leonard said some advocates believe utility companies like Cascade could be speculating on the market and putting themselves in a position to sell the gas elsewhere at a higher price if they don’t use it in their own region. However, any profit from selling the gas would not benefit ratepayers, according to Leonard.
“All the risk is on the ratepayers, but any potential profit is on shareholders,” she said.
Cascade serves 28 communities in Oregon and 67 in Washington, covering more than 32,000 square miles in the region and representing nearly 310,000 ratepayers. It is one of three companies — alongside NW Natural and Avista — committed to buying a total of 150 million standard cubic feet of new natural gas per day along the GTNXP pipeline. NW Natural and Avista are responsible for submitting their own IRPs.
“Coupled with the fact that forecasting shows this gas may not be necessary, it is clear that circumstances have changed and GTN Xpress is not a prudent investment, whether or not it may have been in the past,” advocates wrote in submitted testimony.
Cascade committed to purchasing 20 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day in 2021, but the GTNXP project has repeatedly stalled as grassroots organizations, elected officials and others have demanded state and federal agencies deny the massive pipeline project altogether.
However, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the expansion of the pipeline Oct. 19, 2023 amidst considerable pressure.
The GTNXP is a 1,377-mile pipeline running from the Canadian border in Idaho through Eastern Washington, crossing the Columbia River into Central Oregon and stretching to the California border. TC Energy, the Canadian company that owns and manages the pipelines, was the company behind the Keystone XL pipeline project. The GTNXP application was first submitted October 4, 2021, and the company was hopeful the project would be up and running by November 2023.
Sahler said up until recently, it has been extremely uncommon for a group of organizations to collaborate in proceedings at the PUC. She said organizations like the Green Energy Institute can capture concerns that are top of mind for community and climate organizations and share them in a way that is helpful to the commissioners making decisions about utility investments.
“The (PUC) needs to hear that people do not want any more investments in fossil fuel infrastructure because someone will have to pay off that investment over the next 30 years, and we want to make sure it isn't the folks who can least afford to transition off of natural gas,” Sahler said.
The PUC will hear public testimony and decide whether or not to acknowledge Cascade's 2023 IRP March 14.
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