Eversource Energy, the largest utility company in New England, has announced that it has left the American Gas Association (AGA), a powerful trade group that represents the interests of the natural gas industry. The utility said that it made the decision to focus on its decarbonization efforts and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
Eversource’s climate strategy
Eversource, which serves about 4 million customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, provides both electricity and natural gas. The utility has set ambitious targets to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 for its electricity operations and by 2050 for its gas operations. To do so, it plans to invest in renewable energy, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, and green hydrogen.
Eversource spokesperson Chris McKinnon told WBUR that the utility canceled its membership with the AGA in early 2022 as part of a broader, strategic effort to prioritize “decarbonization” and support its company-wide operations. He said that Eversource is more than a natural gas utility and that it wants to redirect its costs to more targeted associations and memberships.
AGA’s role in blocking climate action
The AGA is a prominent voice in the utility industry that advocates for the use of natural gas as a clean and reliable energy source. However, environmentalists and climate activists have accused the group of spreading misinformation about electrification, supporting laws that prevent local governments from banning fossil fuels in new buildings, fighting federal energy efficiency standards, and casting doubt on the science showing that gas appliances can be harmful to human health.
Leah Stokes, a professor at the University of California Santa Barbara and the author of the book “Short Circuiting Policy”, which documents how utilities have worked to obstruct clean energy laws and promote climate denial and delay, said that the AGA has played a key role in helping utilities fight local and state efforts to heat buildings with electricity instead of natural gas. She called Eversource’s departure from the group “big news” and said that it could signal a shift in the utility industry.
Implications for the gas sector
Eversource’s decision to leave the AGA appears to mark the first time a major utility has left the influential gas trade group over diverging climate agendas, a move some energy experts call “unprecedented” and say could be a harbinger of things to come. Charlie Spatz, a researcher with the Energy Policy Institute, a utility watchdog group, said that he thinks it is very possible that more utilities follow the lead of Eversource and cite decarbonization as a reason to quit the AGA.
Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the AGA, confirmed that Eversource is no longer a member of the group. She declined, however, to comment on the company’s decision to leave or criticisms that the group has worked to block building decarbonization. She said that the AGA remains committed to advancing innovation and technology solutions that reduce emissions from natural gas use.
Eversource’s departure from the AGA comes at a time when the gas sector is facing increasing pressure from environmental groups, regulators, and customers to align with the goals of the Paris Agreement and transition to a low-carbon economy. The utility’s move could also have implications for its relationship with other gas companies and pipeline operators in New England.
