You have likely noticed that your electric bill and natural gas bill have both gone through the roof in the past few years – costing you hundreds of dollars a year in additional heating costs. In this article, we will explain how this monstrous cost increase occurred and – with a change in administration – how we can cut your heating cost back to what it was 10 years ago. Just to make you aware of how important this election is, we will also explain how the current administration plans to double your heating costs even beyond what they are now in the next few years and eventually force millions of the homeowners in our State to spend $40,000 or more to switch from natural gas to electric heat.
In short, their diabolical plan to address climate change is to drive the cost of energy so high, that most of us will not be able to afford to heat our homes with either electric or natural gas. So please read this article and share it with your friends and neighbors. This election matters!
Doubling your Energy Cost is not about climate change – it is about Increasing Profits for Corporations driving this narrative
We understand that voters have strongly held views about the role humans play in climate change. Some feel strongly that climate change is a scam being used to drive up their taxes and energy costs to increase profits for energy companies. Others feel humans are having an impact on climate and that we should do everything possible to reduce that impact.
The Common Sense approach to this debate is to demand scientifically credible evidence – not only about the causes and degree of climate change – but also demand scientifically credible evidence of proposed solutions to the climate change problem.
Even if one believes that human caused climate change is real, it is crazy to force solutions down our throats – such as Cap and Trade scams to drive up energy prices - when there is no evidence that Cap and Trade will have any significant impact on the Climate Change problem.
If the current administration actually wanted to do something to offset carbon emissions, they would encourage everyone to plant a tree in their back yard or their local park. Trees absorb carbon and they produce oxygen. Trees are a Common Sense solution because they are relatively inexpensive and they last for 100 years or more.
As you will shortly see, the insane laws passed by the current administration to drive up energy costs will not significantly reduce carbon emissions. All it will really do is drive poor and middle class families out of their homes and apartments and into homeless shelters.
Why Natural Gas is Much Cheaper than Electric Heat
About half the homes in Washington state use natural gas to heat their home and the other half use electric home heaters. There has long been a debate in the scientific community as to the benefits of natural gas versus electric heat. Those who favor electric heat claim that hydroelectric power is “renewable” in that it comes from dams on our rivers. This simplistic argument ignores the fact that all dams have a limited life span. Eventually, the uphill side of the dam will fill with silt. Dams also have a huge initial cost and a huge initial carbon footprint in terms of the tons of concrete and tons of iron rebar used to make the dams. Then there are the hundreds of miles of huge transmission towers and lines that also have a carbon footprint. There is also the cost of millions of acres that were once forests of carbon-absorbing, oxygen-producing trees that were cut down to make room for the dam reservoirs. Dams also can have an impact on fish. So while dams are an important source of energy, this electric energy is not free and it is not carbon neutral. It is therefore insane to claim that electricity is renewable and does not have a carbon footprint. But that is in fact what the current administration in Olympia is claiming.
This same administration claims that natural gas is “not renewable.” Their claim is not currently supported by the facts. The actual amount of natural gas reserves has gone up during the past 20 years – not down. This increase in supply is the main reason why natural gas prices have gone down in Washington State and across the nation during the past 20 years – despite an increase in demand.
The average annual residential price of natural gas in Washington state trended downward from 2010 when it was $12.24 per thousand cubic feet to 2019 when it hit a low of $9.82 per thousand cubic feet. This was a 20% price reduction over 10 years related primarily to a large increase in the supply of natural gas. https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/n3010wa3A.htm
Meanwhile, during this same period, the price of electric heat has gone up substantially. This is largely because the supply of electricity has not kept pace with demand. In fact, if the current administration succeeds in their plan to eliminate natural gas, there will not be enough electricity to replace the loss of natural gas. We can expect rolling blackouts during cold winter months – in addition to paying massively higher heating bills.
Despite the fact that only half the homes in our state heat with electricity, we are already facing electric supply capacity problems. Forcing the half of our homes currently using natural gas to switch to electricity will lead to certain disaster. This switch will also cost the average homeowner about $40,000 – and the switch itself will lead to a huge carbon footprint. But that is the crazy plan currently being forced on us by our current administration.
Another fact to be aware of is that natural gas is a much more efficient way to heat your home than electricity. This is because it takes a lot of electricity to create a little bit of heat. Most of the electricity is wasted. On the other hand, natural gas has a energy conversion rate of over 90%. The term we use is efficiency. As a result of this efficiency advantage, the cost of natural gas per KWH is about half the cost of an equivalent amount of electric heat. See this 2024 study as a good example:
https://shrinkthatfootprint.com/natural-gas-heat-vs-electrical-heat/
This study found that for Washington state, the cost of natural gas was $16.91 per million BTU (British Thermal Units) while the cost of electric heat was $32.47 per million BTU. This converts to 6 cents per KWH for natural gas compared to 12 cents per KWH for electric heat. As of March, 2024, the cost of electric heat is about 13 cents a KWH which converts to an average electric bill of $132 per month or $1,584 per year. This is a 100% increase over the price of electricity in 2003. https://findenergy.com/wa/
By comparison, the price of natural gas fell by 20% from 2010 to 2020. While the price of natural gas has continued to decline in the rest of the nation, it has shot up by 59% in Washington State since 2020 – solely because of new laws passed by the current administration that have the stated purpose of driving the cost of natural gas beyond what any normal family can afford.
The final fact to be aware of before we dive into the details is that the two groups that emit the most carbon are the US military and billionaires like Bill Gates flying around in private airplanes. By comparison, the average homeowner in Washington state emits very little carbon – and perhaps is already carbon neutral if they have a couple of trees in their back yard.
Washington Legislature votes that doubled our heating bills
Now that we have a better idea of the options, we will next take a look at the new “Carbon” laws that have been passed in Washington state in the past four years and why they have driven up the cost of both electricity and natural gas.
On February 16, 2020, the Washington State House of Representatives passed HB 2311 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION LIMITS. Here is a link to this bill: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=2311&Year=2019&Initiative=false
This bill passed the House by a vote of 55 to 41 Here was the House vote:
Voting Yea: Representatives Appleton, Bergquist, Callan, Chapman, Chopp, Cody, Davis, Doglio, Dolan, Duerr, Fey, Fitzgibbon, Frame, Goodman, Gregerson, Hansen, Hudgins, Johnson, J., Kilduff, Kirby, Kloba, Leavitt, Lekanoff, Lovick, Macri, Mead, Morgan, Ormsby, Ortiz-Self, Orwall, Paul, Pellicciotti, Peterson, Pettigrew, Pollet, Ramel, Ramos, Riccelli, Robinson, Ryu, Santos, Sells, Senn, Shewmake, Slatter, Springer, Stonier, Sullivan, Tarleton, Thai, Tharinger, Valdez, Walen, Wylie, Jinkins
Voting Nay: Representatives Barkis, Blake, Boehnke, Caldier, Chandler, Corry, DeBolt, Dent, Dufault, Dye, Eslick, Gildon, Goehner, Graham, Griffey, Harris, Hoff, Irwin, Jenkin, Klippert, Kraft, Kretz, MacEwen, Maycumber, McCaslin, Mosbrucker, Orcutt, Rude, Schmick, Shea, Smith, Steele, Stokesbary, Sutherland, Van Werven, Vick, Volz, Walsh, Wilcox, Ybarra, Young
The bill then passed the Senate on March 5, 2020 on a vote of 28 to 21. Here was the Senate vote:
Voting Yea: Senators Billig, Carlyle, Cleveland, Conway, Darneille, Das, Dhingra, Frockt, Hasegawa, Hobbs, Hunt, Keiser, Kuderer, Liias, Lovelett, McCoy, Mullet, Nguyen, Pedersen, Randall, Rolfes, Saldaña, Salomon, Stanford, Takko, Van De Wege, Wellman, Wilson, C.
Voting Nay: Senators Becker, Braun, Brown, Ericksen, Fortunato, Hawkins, Holy, Honeyford, King, Muzzall, O`Ban, Padden, Rivers, Schoesler, Sheldon, Short, Wagoner, Walsh, Warnick, Wilson, L., Zeiger
The bill ordered that a study be done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Washington state by 95% by 2050. The 61 page report was completed on June 6 2022 https://www.utc.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-06/Decarbonization%20Pathways%20Engagement%20Plan%20June%202022.pdf
Here are two graphs from this report:
Note that residential home heating (green above) is only a tiny fraction of the total emissions. Even if every homeowner stopped using electricity and natural gas completely, as the above graph claims will happen by 2050, there would be almost no change in total emissions. In fact, the carbon footprint associated with two million families forced to spend $40,000 each to switch is certain to be greater than any carbon reduction from switching from gas heat to electric heat.
Note also that transportation is claimed to be the largest carbon emitter. So another goal of the Climate Crazy Crowd is to drive the cost of gasoline through the roof to force us to buy electric cars. We will cover this crime in our separate report on lowering the price of gasoline.
Here is the second graph:
Note the final two columns on the right. There is no reduction in jet fuel. But gasoline is completely eliminated. Just to the left of this are the two tiny columns on Residential Heating. Currently, it is half Natural Gas and half Grid Electric.
By 2050, both Natural Gas (blue) and Grid Electric (yellow) will be gone. Here is a closer look at these two columns:
You can either buy solar panels for $50,000 or more per home (this is on top of the $40,000 you need to spend to switch to electric heat – the total is $90,000). Or you can have no heat and just wear a thick coat.
Here is the third graph on 2050 transportation:
Gas cars will be gone. You can either buy an electric car for $40,000 - or an electric bike with a cargo carrier for $5,000 – or you can walk – or you can vote for Common Sense candidates who will oppose this crazy plan.
A Toyota Prius will cost you another $40,000 – bringing your grand total to $130,000 – in addition to doubling the cost of your energy and food bills.
A New and Better Alternative to Electric Cars
Instead of banning gasoline cars and requiring 4 million families to spend $40,000 each to buy an electric car, we should let the market decide which car maker has the best solution. For example, Toyota recently announced a new type of hydrogen powered engine they claim will make electric cars obsolete. Currently, their Hydrogen-cell powered cars cost $50,000. However, they expect that as these cars grow in popularity, by 2030, the price will be cut in half to $25,000 making them about the same price as a gas powered car.
In addition, by 2030, Toyota claims they will produce an entirely new kind of engine that uses Direct Hydrogen rather than a Hydrogen Fuel cell. Unlike hydrogen fuel cell vehicles like the Toyota Mirai, which generate electricity through a chemical reaction, Hydrogen Internal Combustion engines (aka HICE) burn hydrogen directly in a manner akin to gasoline engines.
This direct combustion method has many advantages, including the need to make only minor modifications to existing engines and producing almost zero CO2 emissions. The primary emission from these direct hydrogen engines is water vapor. This process the opposite of combustion of fossil fuels, where carbon in the fuel combines with oxygen to produce CO2.
Here is a picture of their first HICE van taken earlier this year filling up at a Hydrogen pump:
Another advantage of the Hydrogen car is that it does not require an expensive battery – which is a major cost for current electric vehicles.
The point is that as new technologies become more cost effective, the market itself will make the conversion from gas powered cars to newer hydrogen powered cars. There is simply no need to force 4 million families to spend $40,000 each on an electric car which may soon be replaced by a newer technology.
How "No New Taxes" Claims turned into a record 59% Hidden Tax Increase
Naturally, we were all told all of these new bills out of Olympia will cost next to nothing. But despite the fact that natural gas prices have declined in the rest of the nation, the table below shows the increase in the price of natural gas here in Washington State over the past four years:
2024 Inslee’s Farewell Gift to the working class families that elected him based on his “No Tax Increase” Promises
On March 1, 2024, the Washington State Senate passed House Bill 1589 CLEAN ENERGY (also known as the Drive Up Your Heating Costs bill) by a margin of 27 to 22. Here was the vote:
Voting Yea: Senators Billig, Cleveland, Conway, Dhingra, Frame, Hansen, Hasegawa, Hunt, Kauffman, Keiser, Kuderer, Liias, Lovelett, Lovick, Nguyen, Nobles, Pedersen, Randall, Robinson, Saldaña, Salomon, Shewmake, Stanford, Trudeau, Valdez, Wellman, Wilson, C.
Voting Nay: Senators Boehnke, Braun, Dozier, Fortunato, Gildon, Hawkins, Holy, King, MacEwen, McCune, Mullet, Muzzall, Padden, Rivers, Schoesler, Short, Torres, Van De Wege, Wagoner, Warnick, Wilson, J., Wilson, L.
On March 5, 2024, the Washington State House passed House Bill 1589 by a margin of 52 to 45. Here was the vote:
Voting Yea: Representatives Alvarado, Bateman, Berg, Bergquist, Berry, Bronoske, Callan, Chopp, Cortes, Davis, Doglio, Donaghy, Duerr, Entenman, Farivar, Fey, Fitzgibbon, Fosse, Goodman, Gregerson, Hackney, Kloba, Leavitt, Lekanoff, Macri, Mena, Morgan, Nance, Ormsby, Ortiz-Self, Orwall, Paul, Peterson, Pollet, Ramel, Ramos, Reed, Reeves, Riccelli, Ryu, Santos, Senn, Shavers, Simmons, Slatter, Stearns, Stonier, Street, Taylor, Thai, Wylie, Jinkins
Voting Nay: Representatives Abbarno, Barkis, Barnard, Caldier, Chambers, Chandler, Chapman, Cheney, Christian, Connors, Corry, Couture, Dent, Dye, Eslick, Goehner, Graham, Griffey, Harris, Hutchins, Jacobsen, Klicker, Kretz, Low, Maycumber, McClintock, McEntire, Mosbrucker, Orcutt, Robertson, Rude, Rule, Sandlin, Schmick, Schmidt, Springer, Stokesbary, Tharinger, Timmons, Volz, Walen, Walsh, Waters, Wilcox, Ybarra
The new law speeds up the change from natural gas to electric by allowing electric companies like PGE to use an accounting trick called “accelerated depreciation” to pretend to increase their costs – giving them an excuse to greatly increase what they charge to both electric and gas customers.
Because of Washington’s already-existing climate laws, companies like PSE are legally required to transition to from natural gas to electricity quickly. Companies like PSE are already required to generate 80% of their energy from so-called “renewable” energy sources like Hydro and solar by 2030 and 100% by 2045.
Thus, HB 1589 sets the stage for a total statewide natural gas ban and will drastically inflate utility rates for everyone, as millions of homeowners and businesses will bear the cost of converting from gas to electricity.
Many progressive organizations, including the Sierra Club, Washington State Budget and Policy Center, The Washington State Community Action Partnership (WSCAP) and Sightline Institute urged Inslee to veto part of the bill that allows for what’s termed “accelerated depreciation.”
This will lead to significant short-term rate increases which will disproportionately impact low and moderate-income households.
Customers will be responsible for replacing gas furnaces, gas water heaters and gas stoves. The Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) estimates PSE’s residential customers alone will face a cost of $7 billion to $10 billion converting to electricity, with average costs expected to be about $40,000 per home. Statewide for 2 million homes now using natural gas, the cost will be $80 billion.
Owners of older homes can expect much higher costs because of necessary upgrades to wiring, electrical panels and other equipment. Renters will also be burdened with higher rental payments to absorb the costs of their landlords’ electrification efforts.
The so-called “PSE bill” has gotten the lion’s share of attention in the energy debate. But other measures spearheaded by state officials are quietly forcing through some of the same edicts that were taken out of this legislation. The Washington State Building Code Council (SBCC) approved new building and energy codes last year. Which, after a months-long delay, went into effect Mar. 15 2024
The Real Agenda is to force everyone to move into Stack and Pack Over Crowded Cities
Our Voluntary Locally Controlled Tree Planting Program as a Common Sense Alternative to forcing millions of families spend $40,000 on gas to electric conversion, plus $50,000 for solar panels and $40,000 for an electric car
Let’s assume there are four million families living in single family homes in Washington state. Let’s further assume that half of these families already use expensive electric heat to heat their homes. Let’s further assume that 5% of all families own electric cars and 5% of all families own solar panels.
With these assumptions, the average family will be forced to spend about $100,000 to comply with the new Carbon laws. Multiply this times 4 million families and the total hidden tax comes to $400 billion – the largest hidden tax in State history.
Our alternative to this draconian hidden tax is to offer a voluntary, locally controlled tree planting program. Our State has 39 counties. Assuming the average tree cost $100, if our State granted $4 million to each county, they could set up their own tree planting program to plant 100,000 trees in each county. One option would be to give each homeowner and or property owner a $100 offset to their property taxes as an incentive to plant a tree in their yard. But it would be up to each county to decide how to run their program. The result would be planting 4 million additional trees in Washington State. The total cost would be $160 million.
In addition, Washington has nearly 300 school districts and over 3000 schools. If each school district was given a million dollars, they could plant a 10,000 trees or other plants on school properties. This would be a thousand new trees and plants at every school. The total cost would be $300 million.
Finally, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Transportation both manage millions of acres of State land. If each of them were given $260 million, they could each plant 2.6 million trees. The total cost of the entire program would be under $1 billion – all of which could be paid for by eliminating a few illegal corporate tax breaks. This is much less expensive than the Crazy Crowd plan which would cost $400 billion. And it is more likely to achieve the goal of reducing CO2 and increasing Oxygen.
The net result is that Washington State would have 10 million additional trees each of which would be consuming CO2 and producing Oxygen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the next 100 years. Any family that wants a new tree in their back yard can have one and no family is forced to spend one penny for the program.
We need to put this issue on the ballot in the 2024 General Election. Do the voters want a voluntary locally run tree planting program or a State Mandated $400 billion crazy carbon program that would cost each homeowner more than $100,000?
The Only Long Term Solution is to replace the Crazy Crowd with Common Sense Candidates
Republicans argue that this entire debate could be a moot point if Washington voters choose to repeal the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) through an initiative on the November ballot. However, a PSE spokesperson stated that even if the CCA goes away, other state climate laws, like the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) will continue to dictate how the utility company shapes its future energy policies.
On March 27, 2024, Republican State Representative, Jim Walsh, filed an Initiative to repeal House Bill 1589. Hopefully, we can get enough signatures to also get this Initiative on the 2024 General Election ballot. But the only real long term solution to end Crazy policies is to vote for Common Sense candidates!