Methane & Your Money

The City of Richmond, which owns Richmond Gas Works, is at a crossroads. The long-term economic prospects for methane and for Richmond Gas Works are not good. Overall, demand for gas from Richmond Gas Works is declining as more customers choose to switch to electric heating, cooking, and water heating. At the same time, the costs of repairing, maintaining and upgrading aging pipes are increasing and being spread across a struggling customer base. Richmond City has already agreed that phasing out the sale of gas is necessary in City Council Resolution 2021-R049, but currently lacks plans to do so without imposing stringent costs on customers.

Additionally, climate science informs us that we need to be moving away from fossil fuels as soon as possible to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. That means cutting our greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels like methane by 45% by 2030 reaching net zero by 2050, which the City Council pledged to do in Resolution 2020-R024.
Business as usual requires spending $760 million to update Richmond Gas Works’ pipes as reported by Billy Vaughan, DPU’s deputy director for finance, during a March 2023 Council committee meeting. In order to avoid an economic cliff, Richmond needs a plan to phase out its reliance on natural gas over the next decade. Such a plan would minimize financial liability and provide for an equitable and just transition to a clean energy future for Gas Works customers and employees.