Opponents of I-2066 are trying to gaslight Tacoma. Vote yes to keep your gas lit | Opinion
Voting is a huge responsibility. Voters take it very seriously. That’s why it’s so demoralizing when interest groups with a clear agenda intentionally misinform voters to confuse them.
Washington voters have the opportunity to vote on a critical issue facing our state in Initiative 2066. Should natural gas continue to be part of the energy resource mix utilized in our state or not?
A recent op-ed in the News Tribune attempts to persuade voters to vote no on I-2066 by spreading misinformation and maligning the people behind the initiative.
More than half a million voters signed I-2066 in just seven weeks.
Opponents of I-2066 insult them when they say it’s a “special-interests” initiative. When the Legislature threatened the future of natural gas service in Washington by passing a costly and dangerous bill (HB 1589) in the middle of the night on the last few days of session, the home-building industry sprang into action.
Along with the restaurant and hotel industry, manufacturers, union workers, denturists, local fireplace and barbecue companies and hundreds of other businesses, we gave real people across Washington a voice. And in just seven weeks, they rallied to qualify I-2066 for the ballot.
Electricity costs more than three times as much as natural gas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
HB 1589 directs the state’s largest utility, Puget Sound Energy, to end natural gas service and allows the utility to accelerate cost recovery from its customers. I-2066 removes that requirement and allows people to continue to use natural gas for cooking their food, warming their water and heating their homes.
More than 1.3 million people in Washington depend on natural gas — especially when the power goes out, as it frequently does during our cold and windy fall and winter seasons. If I-2066 fails to pass and this plan goes through, Washington families will not only lose access to a reliable energy source, they will have to pay more for electricity while everyone else in the country pays less for natural gas.
Opponents claim I-2066 ends incentives for energy efficiency. They are lying to you. I encourage you to read the initiative. It not only retains requirements to provide incentives for electric appliances, but it also restores incentives for energy-efficient gas appliances. Beyond that, consumers will also have access to all the federal energy efficiency incentives available today. State initiatives have no impact on federal law.
Nothing in I-2066 forces families to use natural gas. The initiative simply requires utilities and local governments that already provide natural gas to continue to provide it to customers who want it. It also stops the government from trying to force people off natural gas by limiting access or making it artificially too expensive.
More than 400 small businesses and half a million voters joined residential home builders, hotel, restaurant and brewery owners, union workers, realtors, patio and barbecue shop owners, manufacturers and others to bring energy choice to the ballot.
Washington’s families already pay more than the rest of the nation for homes, gasoline and other essential needs. Vote yes on I-2066 to protect natural gas as a reliable and low-cost source of energy now and into the future.