LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

In 2014, the Massachusetts legislature began to address the epidemic of gas leaks throughout our aging gas distribution system. 

Since then, every legislative session has adopted laws to enhance gas safety and advance an equitable transition off of gas to non-emitting, renewable sources of thermal energy. 

The Gas Transition Allies have been an integral part of helping to propose and advocate for this legislation.  

Our legislation focuses on:

CLEAN HEAT
Provisions allowing gas companies to evolve their business to deliver thermal energy instead of gas, including funding mechanisms that can make the transition equitable for low-income communities and ensure quality jobs.

PUBLIC SAFETY
Amendments to statutes that govern how gas leaks are classified, monitored, and repaired

URBAN TREES
Proposed legislation to prioritize repairing leaks in the root zone of trees and provide resources to municipalities to expand the urban tree canopy throughout the Commonwealth  

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND A JUST TRANSITION
Support for energy justice legislation that builds a stronger economy for all

2016: An Act to Promote Energy Diversity

The Gas Transition Allies worked with our legislative sponsors to propose Section 13 of an Act to Promote Energy Diversity (MGL 164 § 144). Based on a 2016 scientific study finding that 7% of gas leaks emit over 50% of the leaked gas, this amendment aimed to dramatically reduce methane emissions by prioritizing the biggest gas leaks, those with the most significant environmental impact, for repair.

 Sponsors: Representative Lori Ehrlich (8th Essex), Senator James Eldridge (Middlesex and Worcester)

 This measure required the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Public Utilities to establish:

• Criteria for assessing which Grade 3 leaks have significant environmental impact.

• Timelines and acceptable repair methods for addressing these leaks.

2020: The FUTURE Act

With new urgency created by the United Nations IPCC report, disastrous gas explosions in the Merrimack Valley, and innovations in renewable thermal energy, the Gas Transition Allies worked with our legislative sponsors to propose An Act For Utility Transition to Using Renewable Energy (FUTURE): S.1940 and H.2849. 

This bill outlined a safe, just transition to move Massachusetts utilities off gas and shift customers to clean energy in alignment with state mandated greenhouse gas reduction targets. 

Sponsors: Senator Cynthia Creem (1st Middlesex and Norfolk), Representative Lori Ehrlich (8th Essex), Representative Christina Minicucci (14th Essex)

The FUTURE Act included:

• Clear rules to strengthen gas safety standards for workers and the public.

• Stronger oversight of gas companies by the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) to expedite fixing gas leaks.

• Increased coordination and transparency among the DPU, gas companies, and municipalities in the repair and replacement of leak-prone pipes.

• Requiring the DPU to consider equitable access to energy efficiency and renewable energy.

• Flexibility for municipalities to choose alternatives, such as district energy.

• Funding, financial incentives, and renewable energy credits to encourage gas companies to distribute thermal renewable energy instead of gas.

The following ideas in The FUTURE Act were included in the Next Generation climate bill, An Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Climate Policy enacted on June 30, 2021:

• Requiring the DPU to include reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in its decisions as it regulates gas and electric utilities.

• Allowing natural gas utilities to pilot “renewable thermal energy sources, systems or technologies capable of substituting for fossil-fueled natural gas” for example geothermal heating and cooling on a district-wide scale.