Request from CCAN Action Fund comes after utility asks groups to sign Non-Disclosure Agreement to discuss company’s controversial and high-polluting Project Pipes plan

Washington D.C. – The Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) Action Fund today asked the utility Washington Gas Light to sign a Full-Disclosure Agreement (FDA) outlining how exactly the company will conform to the District of Columbia’s official climate change policies and goals. Those goals include reaching carbon neutrality by 2045. 

The request comes after the increasingly controversial utility asked environmental groups to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) as part of public meetings mandated by the D.C. Public Service Commission to discuss the company’s expensive and high-polluting Project Pipes plan. Washington Gas has been widely criticized for this pipeline replacement plan as bad for consumers and the environment.

Washington Gas’s Project Pipes plan proposes to replace every single methane-gas pipeline in D.C., keeping the district hooked on methane gas for decades, which would fly in the face of D.C. climate laws. After years of public opposition to this plan and pushback from D.C. regulators including the Office of the People’s Counsel, Attorney General, ten D.C. Councilmembers, and multiple Public Service commissioners, Washington Gas has been forced to reconsider the next phase of its plan, which is due September 27. 

Washington Gas is required to educate D.C. residents about its new proposal through public meetings, and the D.C. Public Service Commission regulators require these meetings to be open to everyone. Yet the for-profit utility is only issuing invitations to select groups, and requiring attendees to sign an NDA, which makes meaningful engagement and public transparency impossible.

As a result, CCAN Action Fund refused to sign the NDA and instead asked Washington Gas to sign the FDA.

Click HERE to see the requested FDA.

Anne Havemann, CCAN Action Fund’s deputy director and general counsel, said: “We simply cannot sign an NDA that might compromise our ability to speak out on such an urgent public issue. D.C. residents deserve safe energy – and that means clean energy that does not pollute our air, harm our health, or fuel the climate crisis. We remain committed to being open and honest with D.C. residents about our efforts to ensure compliance with D.C.’s climate laws. We want to see Washington Gas sign the FDA and honor it by being equally forthcoming.”

CCAN Action Fund’s call for an FDA is part of a broader campaign to expose Washington Gas’s years of misdeeds and misinformation. Two weeks ago, a coalition of interfaith, housing, and climate groups launched a city-wide advertising campaign that spotlights the for-profit utility’s profiteering, health hazards, and climate deception. 

Click HERE learn more about Washington Gas Exposed

Washington Gas’s lack of transparency is the latest in its series of deceptive tactics meant to keep D.C. hooked on methane gas. Earlier this month, Washington Gas submitted its latest Climate Business Plan program application, a collection of greenwashed programs that prop up the corporation’s aging methane gas pipeline system and would continue polluting DC residents’ homes. Additionally, Washington Gas filed its latest rate case, seeking $45 million more from gas customers through increased rates for gas service.

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Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) Action Fund is dedicated to driving change in public policies at the local, state and national level to address the climate crisis. Through voter education, lobbying, and participation in the electoral process, we seek to advance our country’s leadership in the global movement towards clean energy solutions — focusing our efforts primarily in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. We know that a vibrant democracy is central to our success so we work to defend democratic integrity wherever we can.