By Melanie Plaut and Helena Birecki
Original piece published in the Canby Chronicle.
A startling regulatory blind spot in Oregon has allowed NW Natural to conduct an experiment on unsuspecting Portland residents.
For the past months, NW Natural has exploited a loophole to quietly inject hydrogen into Southeast Portland’s gas system. Unlike neighboring Washington , Oregon lacks regulations requiring utilities to notify customers when altering their gas supply, allowing NW Natural to keep residents in the dark about this change to their energy source.
Though the amount of hydrogen being injected into Southeast Portland’s pipelines is small — less than 0.2% averaged over the year — NW Natural has already indicated to the Oregon Public Utility Commission that they plan to scale up the percentage to as much as 20%. At these levels, the safety risks would be pronounced.
A study commissioned by the California Public Utilities Commission found that when hydrogen concentrations exceed 5%, significant risks emerge. These dangers include an increased likelihood of pipeline leaks, potential embrittlement of gas infrastructure, malfunctions in household appliances like stoves and water heaters, and higher chances of dangerous explosions.
The potential dangers are so significant that Hawaii Gas, which uses a blend of 15% hydrogen, treats every pipeline with a protective coating to guard against embrittlement at a cost of $239,000 per mile of pipeline. Imagine the cost burden to utility customers if NW Natural were to implement this strategy across its thousands of miles of pipeline.
Burning hydrogen, especially for cooking, also risks exacerbating respiratory diseases such as asthma due to increased emission of health-harming nitrogen oxide (NOx). Recognizing these dangers , the American Medical Association advocates for programs that help low and middle income families switch to electric stoves.
Producing hydrogen from methane, as NW Natural is doing, is highly inefficient and likely harmful for our climate, as 42% of energy is lost in the transformation of methane to hydrogen. Increasing gas extraction and transmission results in additional climate-harming methane leakage , as well as safety hazards, and environmental justice impacts . Furthermore, despite hydrogen’s supposedly “clean” reputation, its use would only reduce residential climate emissions by at most 7% .
Fortunately, Oregon doesn't need to gamble with risky hydrogen experiments to meet its climate goals. Although NW Natural touts hydrogen blending as a strategy for cutting emissions, Oregon has far safer and more effective options at its disposal to slash climate emissions. That includes upgrading homes with highly efficient heat pumps and electric induction stoves to replace outdated gas equipment, an approach that can decarbonize households while increasing safety and reducing utility bills.
Building professionals, analysts and scientists concur that electrifying homes is more affordable, safer and several times more efficient for residential and commercial decarbonization. In contrast to hydrogen, efficient electrification with heat pumps reduces dangerous air pollution, cuts emissions immediately, and provides lifesaving cooling.
It’s noteworthy that the Oregon Public Utilities Commission has not approved gas companies’ plans to use alternative fuels like hydrogen to comply with Oregon’s climate laws, due in part to scarce resources and expense. As Public Utilities Commission Chair Megan Decker put it, “some amount of electrification is going to be necessary.”
While the Southeast Portland hydrogen project snuck past residents and regulators at first, we are lucky that community members sounded the alarm. If hydrogen concentrations in gas pipelines increased even part way from 0.2% to 20%, residents would face serious safety, health and utility affordability risks, and we would be no closer to reaching our decarbonization goals.
The Oregon Legislature must take action to protect NW Natural’s customers. The utility cannot be allowed to perform risky experiments on unsuspecting customers. And instead of pursuing hydrogen, Oregon should be looking to building electrification as a safe, reliable and cost-effective method to meet our climate goals.
Melanie Plaut is a retired OBGYN and current member of Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility. Helena Birecki is the interim chair & climate legislative co-lead for the Climate Reality Project Portland Chapter.
Originally published in the Canby Chronicle. Read the original article here.