FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Dave Schryver, President and CEO
Phone: (202) 464-0835
Email: dschryver@apga.org
APGA Encourages Other US Cities and Towns Not to Follow San Francisco’s Mistake
Washington, D.C. (January 16, 2020) – The American Public Gas Association, representing more than 700 local, municipally owned natural gas systems in 37 states, issued the following statement in response to action by cities to ban the use of natural gas in newly constructed or renovated municipal buildings beginning in 2020.
“We are disappointed that San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors approved legislation to ban the use of natural gas in newly constructed or refurbished government buildings beginning in 2020. Unfortunately, across the country, there is a growing effort to move communities to a single source all-electric model, eliminating clean, resilient natural gas. These “all eggs in one basket” policy proposals are shortsighted, untested and ignore that natural gas has a proven record of providing affordable, reliable and efficient energy.
Smart energy policies should be solutions-oriented and include ways to reduce energy consumption by utilizing current energy infrastructure in the most efficient way, paving the way for our energy future. Natural gas has always been, and should always be, part of the solution to address energy efficiency goals in an impactful way.”
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APGA is the national association of municipally and publicly-owned local distribution systems. There are about 1,000 public gas systems serving more than 6 million customers. These public gas utilities are not-for-profit retail distribution entities that are owned by, and accountable to, the citizens they serve. They include municipal gas distribution systems, public utility districts, county districts, and other public agencies that have natural gas distribution facilities.