Attorney General Schwalb Secures Over $2.1 Million from AltaGas Over Failure to Meet Solar Development Requirements

Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today announced a settlement between the District of Columbia and AltaGas, Ltd. (AltaGas) to resolve AltaGas' breach of its 2018 merger agreement with Washington Gas (WGL) that required AltaGas to develop 10 megawatts of solar energy to help offset WGL's greenhouse gas emissions. Under the settlement, AltaGas must pay at least $2.1 million in penalties to the District, and will have to pay additional daily penalties if it fails to meet its 10 megawatt solar energy obligation by the end of this year. The settlement agreement, negotiated by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) was approved by the District of Columbia Public Service Commission (PSC), which authorized the 2018 merger.

"To win approval of its merger with Washington Gas, AltaGas promised to do its part to combat climate change by developing clean energy capacity in the District. But as the Public Service Commission found, AltaGas flagrantly violated that commitment," said Attorney General Schwalb. "Now, to make amends for its broken promises, it will pay millions of dollars in penalties and potentially millions more until it meets its legal obligations to increase solar capacity and create clean energy jobs in DC."

"We are pleased that the parties have reached a settlement agreement, reflecting a positive step forward in advancing the District's climate policy goals," said Emile Thompson, Chairman of the PSC. "As the public utility regulator, we remain committed to supporting the development of sustainable energy solutions in the District and working collaboratively with all stakeholders to achieve these important objectives. We look forward to the continued progress in this critical area."

Under the terms of the 2018 merger, AltaGas was required by July 2023 to develop, or cause the development of, 10 megawatts of battery storage or solar capacity in the District at no cost to ratepayers. However, the PSC found that AltaGas, as of July 2023, had only developed 2.4 megawatts of solar capacity-less than 25% of the requirement.

Under the terms of the new settlement, AltaGas will:

• Pay a $2.1 million penalty to the District for failure to fulfill its solar capacity development requirement from July 2023 through December 2024.
  
• Pay additional penalties for failure to meet its obligations after December 2024 in the amount of $1,500 per day for the first quarter of 2025, and then payments of $3,600 per day thereafter, until the solar capacity requirements are fulfilled.
  
  • AltaGas will pay up to $2.1 million of this additional penalty into the District Department of Energy and Environment's Renewable Energy Development Fund to develop additional solar resources in DC, with penalties in excess of this additional $2.1 million paid to the District's General Fund.

The settlement agreement is available here.

This matter was handled by Senior Assistant Attorney General Brian Caldwell.

AltaGas-Washington Gas Merger

In early 2017, AltaGas, a large Canadian natural gas company, announced plans to acquire the parent company of WGL, subject to various regulatory approvals, including at the DC Public Service Commission (PSC). The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) intervened on behalf of the District and negotiated a PSC-approved settlement, which included AltaGas' commitment to develop 10 MWs of either solar generation or battery storage in the District. In addition, AltaGas agreed to provide $4.2 million for energy efficiency and energy conservation programs targeting multifamily buildings with an emphasis on buildings occupied by low-income residents. OAG also negotiated AltaGas' express acknowledgement that climate change is real and caused by humans, and it secured the company's commitment to publicly support international agreements to prevent global temperatures from rising more than two degrees Celsius by the end of this century.

The Office of the Attorney General's Efforts to Protect the Environment
OAG has a proven track record of protecting District residents from environmental harms and is dedicated to doing all it can to protect the Earth and the District in the short and long term by holding polluters accountable, fighting climate change, and standing up for communities of color who are disproportionately impacted by environmental contamination. OAG works closely with the Department of Energy and Environment to coordinate and implement Anacostia River cleanup efforts and investigate and assess damage to the District's natural resources.

Over the past 10 years, OAG has secured nearly $120 million to promote environmental justice in the District- nearly half of which it has secured since January 2023 when Attorney General Schwalb's administration began, including a $57 million recovery from Pepco for contaminating the Anacostia River for decades.

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