Retrofitting homes and buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is a big but necessary task for Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States and cities committed to climate stabilization goals.

Natural gas creates carbon dioxide when we burn it to heat buildings and water. But it also leaks methane, an even more potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere when it does not make it all the way to our furnaces and water heaters. Older natural gas lines are more likely to leak. Sometimes the leaks get to explosive levels and make the evening news, but on a regular basis there are smaller leaks that emit methane into the atmosphere and contribute to climate change.

As I expected, my water heater finally sprung a leak. The water heater was here when I bought my home almost 25 years ago, and it looked old then. The plumber who put in the new one said he had only ever seen two other water heaters this old, and thought it might even be original to the house, i.e. installed in 1965. I have been expecting it to fail for 25 years. It finally did.

In 2018, NEEP developed an Action Plan to Accelerate Strategic Electrification in the Northeast. The plan came out of an extensive process that included an ongoing steering committee, the production of a regional resource assessment, and a two day conference with over 100 people.