Measure to protect natural gas usage only statewide initiative to receive support, but still too close to call

The measure intended to enshrine natural gas usage in Washington was the only statewide initiative to receive passing support after the first round of ballot counts Tuesday.

One of four put to the voters this election, Initiative 2066 would repeal recent legislation that sought to expedite the transition away from natural gas for large combination utilities.

Around 59.5% of Spokane County voters supported the measure, which is above the current statewide percentage of 51.2% in support, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. Those figures are likely to change as ballots continue to be counted throughout the state’s 39 counties.

The bill the initiative aims to repeal defines large combination utilities as those that provide electricity to more than 800,000 customers and natural gas to more than 500,000 customers. Puget Sound Energy, the state’s largest utility, is the only one in the state with enough customers to fit the definition.

The initiative was sponsored by the Building Industry Association of Washington, the Washington Hospitality Association and Let’s Go Washington, the conservative political group behind the other three statewide initiatives on the ballot Tuesday.

Proponents argued the initiative needs approved to protect a customer’s right to choose the energy source right for them, and to address rising construction costs they say are caused by recent changes to the state’s energy code that heavily incentivizes the use of electrical appliances like heat pumps.

Opponents worried that the initiative’s passage could greatly impair the ability to plan for and meet the state’s climate goals, due to the measure’s sweeping language.

Greenhouse gas emissions are to be cut by 95% by 2030 under Washington’s Climate Commitment Act, which survived its own challenge Tuesday when voters appeared to reject Initiative 2117.

Research has shown methane has a global warming potential nearly 87 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, said Brian Henning, director of the Gonzaga Institute for Climate, Water and the Environment, earlier this year.