Office of People’s Counsel Files Complaint Against Washington Gas and
Affiliate for Deceptive Green Marketing, Seeks $1 Million in Civil Penalties
BALTIMORE – Washington Gas & Light Company and its affiliate, WGL Energy Services, Inc., are deceiving customers about the environmental attributes of natural gas use, the Office of People’s Counsel alleged in a complaint filed today with the Maryland Public Service Commission. Bills sent to customers in October and November mislead customers by describing natural gas as “a clean energy” that is less emissions-intensive and more environmentally beneficial than an all-electric home, said OPC’s complaint, which seeks at least $1 million in civil penalties from the companies.
“Washington Gas is making these environmental claims despite the well-known fact that natural gas production, distribution, and consumption are major sources of greenhouse gas emissions,” said People’s Counsel David S. Lapp. “The green marketing statements contain no factual support or contextual information to qualify the environmental claims. Rather, they make blanket assertions of environmental benefits that mislead customers about the real environmental costs of natural gas use.”
The deceptive marketing claims are contained on bills issued by Washington Gas to customers who have signed up for WGL Energy Services, Inc. to be their gas supplier. Both Washington Gas and WGL Energy Services are owned by WGL Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by AltaGas Ltd., a Canadian holding company.
A customer of both Washington Gas and WGL Energy Services provided copies of the customer’s October and November 2021 bills to OPC, and Washington Gas informed OPC that the bills were specific to its customers who had signed up to get their gas supply from WGL Energy Services. OPC’s complaint also seeks an investigation into whether Washington Gas is violating state laws that prohibit it from giving its affiliated company preferential treatment over other gas suppliers.
The billing statements claim that natural gas is “clean” and that converting an all-electric home to natural gas “is the equivalent of planting 2.75 acres of trees”—assertions that are either outright false or at least highly misleading. In fact, natural gas is a fossil fuel and a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. Though it generally burns cleaner than other fossil fuels, natural gas production and consumption still accounts for about one-third of total United States greenhouse gas emissions. Recently, the Maryland Commission on Climate Change identified building electrification and the progressive phase-down of natural gas as essential steps for meeting Maryland’s goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“The Public Service Commission should put an immediate halt to these efforts to deceive consumers into thinking natural gas is a green product,” Lapp said. “The statements are not only deceptive and misleading; they contradict Maryland’s policy goals for addressing climate change.”
The Maryland Office of People’s Counsel is an independent state agency that represents Maryland’s residential consumers of electric, natural gas, telecommunications, private water and certain transportation matters before the Public Service Commission, federal regulatory agencies and the courts.
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