OLYMPIA, Wash. — The fight to protect natural gas access in Washington state got a boost Friday as KING 5 officially has called the vote in favor of Initiative 2066.
With over 3 million votes tallied, 51.43% (1,593,392 votes) were in favor of approving I-2066. 1,505,028 votes, or 48.57%, were cast to reject the initiative.
I-2066 would require utilities to provide natural gas service to any person or business who requests it and bans the Washington Utility and Trade Commission from approving multi-year rate plans that require or incentivize terminating natural gas service. Let's Go Washington, which gathered the more than 530,000 signatures needed to get Initiative 2066 on the ballot, released a statement Thursday evening celebrating the passing.
“Today we are celebrating I-2066 being approved by voters alongside the 533,005 Washingtonians who signed their name to protect energy choice in our state. The legislature’s decision to eliminate natural gas as an energy source was clear overreach,” Let’s Go Washington founder Brian Heywood said in a statement. “We fought for Washington’s rural communities that couldn’t survive the freezing winters and grid blackouts without natural gas. We fought for small businesses who could not afford to retrofit their buildings to electric. We fought for Washingtonians tired of being forced to comply with policies that make their lives more difficult from a legislature that has proven they aren’t listening to citizens."
The initiative will go into effect 30 days after the election.
Supporters, like the Building Industry Association of Washington and the Washington State Hospitality Association, fear a future natural gas ban in the state - and see this initiative as a way to stop that from happening. The Building Industry of Washington says the ban would hike construction costs while the hospitality association says limiting natural gas could impact restaurants and breweries.
Those who oppose I-2066 see the initiative as a way to tether Washington utility customers to an aging and increasingly inefficient energy source for profit.
The initiative would also put a stop to incentives, like government subsidies and rebates, intended to entice customers and developers to electrify their appliances and buildings- which could be a blow to affordable housing projects statewide.
The three other Let's Go Washington initiatives on the 2024 ballot -- 2109, 2117 and 2124 -- failed to pass. However, the state legislature did enact three other initiatives earlier this year that were supported by Let's Go Washington. Initiative 2081 was related to parents' rights on their children's public education, I-2111 prohibited local and state governments from enacting a personal income tax and I-2113 changed state rules around police pursuits. Those initiatives went into effect this summer.
Visit king5.com/elections for results for all of the statewide and local races in Washington.
