Support Affordable Energy for Snohomish County

You may be aware Gov. Jay Inslee recently signed an extremely unpopular bill, HB 1589, effectively banning natural gas services provided by Puget Sound Energy. Not only will this overwhelm an already insufficient electric grid, it could also force families to spend tends of thousands of dollars to convert their homes away from natural gas (for more information on this new law, check out the article we wrote here).

Because this statewide legislation is so problematic, it’s important to know the stances of your local officials on this issue. The Snohomish County Council provides resolutions and drafts letters on a variety of state and federal issues. Snohomish Councilmember Nehring has introduced Resolution No. 24-013, which opposes the natural gas ban and supports affordable energy choices for Snohomish County families.

While this resolution cannot undo the state law, it provides momentum for next year’s legislative session by sending a crucial message to Olympia: Snohomish County supports energy affordability – not expensive bans.

Resolution 24-013 is scheduled for presentation this Wednesday, April 10th. The meeting begins at 9:00 AM in the Jackson Boardroom on the 8th Floor of the Snohomish County Council office in Everett (3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett). To attend the meeting virtually, click here.

We encourage you to email the Snohomish County Council at contact.council@snoco.org or call at 425-388-3494 and ask them to support the resolution and support affordability for Snohomish families. Let your councilmember know whether you can afford to replace your current natural gas heating with more expensive alternatives by simply clicking the email above, a pre-written message urging the council to support Resolution No. 24-013 will be ready to send from your email account. Alternatively, you can copy the message below and manually send it to contact.council@snoco.org.

Dear Council,

I am extremely concerned about HB 1589, which was recently passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor. This bill could allow Puget Sound Energy to stop providing natural gas services to its customers, forcing them to replace their heating with other, much more expensive alternatives. At a time when the cost of living and inflation continues to rise in our county, this bill will only make it harder for me to live here, potentially increasing my energy bill a couple hundred dollars every month. Please support Resolution No. 24-013, which affirms energy choice and urges the legislature to fix HB 1589 by removing the option that is now in place to ban natural gas. 

Thank you.