The way we use fossil gas as a fuel for heating and other end uses is rapidly changing. Energy efficiency and electrification are constraining demand for gas, while climate mitigation goals and increased awareness of health and safety risks require accelerating the transition to new sources of energy. All of these changes are happening while gas utilities’ distribution systems, in many places, are aging. Investment in a system that serves a shrinking number of customers could mean unsustainable rate increases, with high costs for those who can least afford it.

Utility regulators need to stay ahead of these shifts in order to facilitate a transition that is efficient and equitable. A path for long-term success will involve reforms to gas planning processes, efficiency and electrification programs, and gas ratemaking, and a new RAP report lays out a range of practical options regulators can consider.

In an interactive webinar, report authors Megan Anderson, Max Dupuy and Mark LeBel and moderator Richard Sedano detailed the report’s policy recommendations and how regulators can use them to navigate the changing landscape of fossil gas use.